1: 





xuax Ifitm; 



OR, 

PILGRIMAGE THROUGH THE WILDERNESS 

T O 

THE LAND OF PEOMISE. 

BY 

BENJAMIN BAUSMAN. 

1 WIT 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON. 
1861. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by^ 
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 

STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN PRINTED BY C. SHERJIAX & SON. 



PREFACE. 



In the winter and spring of 1857 1 made a tour to 
Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria, which furnished 
the occasion for the preparation of this book. It has 
struggled long to reach the open sea of the reading 
public, and but for the importunacy of some whose 
opinion is entitled to respect, would have been left to 
slumber in my Journal and manuscript. It looks like a 
work of supererogation, if not presumption, to obtrude 
another volume of Eastern Travels on the public, after 
the many able works which have of late years been 
written on this subject. It must be admitted, however, 
that every traveller, if he have any mind of his own, 
will observe things and places from his own point of 
view, and receive impressions peculiarly his own. Eor 
this reason every new work gives new aspects, all 
furnishing but so many strokes of the descriptive pencil 
to complete the picture. In addition to this it is natural 
to expect that a work of this kind will find access to a 
larger number of readers in the German Reformed 
Church, of which the author is a member, than of those 
(iii) 



iv 



PREFACE. 



prepared by writers of other denominations, though per- 
haps superior to this. For this reason this unpretend- 
ing volume may likewise have an humble mission to 
perform. 

rTo country on the face of the globe ought to possess 
such a charming interest to the Christian as that which 
the world's Redeemer selected for the field of His labors 
while in the flesh. Although many excellent works 
have of late years been written on the Lands of the 
Bible, comparatively little is known of them by a large 
portion of professing Christians. Since my return from 
the East ; I have met many persons from almost all re- 
ligious denominations — persons often otherwise intelli- 
gent — who either thought that the Land of Promise and 
Jerusalem were to be regarded in a mere figurative and 
spiritual sense, or that their places could no longer be 
known and visited. To many the sacred localities of 
the Scriptures possess simply a fabulous meaning, not 
even as real and tangible as the habitations and resorts 
of the gods in heathen mythology. Where is there a 
school geography that pays half as much attention to 
the only little country on earth, which is sacred to the 
Christian, as to others whose only merit is their com- 
mercial influence or prominence in war ? Scholars are 
taught the name and history of every river, province, 
and capital of other lands, whilst they scarcely know 
the difference between Jerusalem and Jericho, between 
the Nile and the Jordan, between the Sea of Galilee and 



PREFACE. 



V 



the Mediterranean. Even in Sunaay Schools, sacred 
geography receives by far too little attention. 

The result of all this is the prevalence of a mythical 
theory, practically little better than that of Strauss, 
which ascribes a fabulous character to the local allusions 
of the Bible. In the estimation of some the Eeligion 
of the Cross would seem more divine and miraculous, if 
Egypt had no river, Arabia no Eed Sea, Sinai no moun- 
tains, and Palestine no Jerusalem or Jordan. It is just 
the reverse. To see or read about Bethlehem, and 
Nazareth, Jerusalem, and G-ethsemane, enables you better 
to realize that the Saviour became human, and that His 
sacred feet trod the earth, and His eyes looked upon 
objects, as ours tread and look. In this respect travel- 
ling in Palestine differs from that in other countries. 
Here a visit to places hallowed by their connection with 
sacred persons and events, inspires you with certain 
devout emotions, which interweave themselves with 
your spiritual being. In Bible lands the traveller's im- 
pressions affect the heart as well as the mind. Travel- 
ling here becomes an experience, which ever afterwards 
links your meditations on the Bible and its persons, 
with certain sacred places. When you think of the 
different periods in our Saviour's life, they will at once 
carry your mind to Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, 
or Jerusalem, and your knowledge of these places will 
enable you more vividly to understand and enjoy certain 
parts of the sacred narrative. 
1* 



vi 



PREFACE. 



This work makes no pretensions to critical research. 
It aims to instruct by combining the devotional with 
the descriptive element. It says many things which to 
some readers may seem trite and stale, from having read 
them in other works. I crave the forbearing indulgence 
of such, while I attempt to instruct the many who have 
never read a work on the East before. The book pro- 
fesses to explain and illustrate the allusions of the Scrip- 
tures to customs and places^ showing how many of the 
former continue in vogue to the present, and how many 
of the latter can still be identified ; how they correspond 
and how they differ from their ancient appearances. It- 
aims to show how prophecy has passed into history, and 
to what extent; what character Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, Ishmael, Esau, and Amalek possessed then, and 
what now. The reader will be surprised to find — though 
strange that he should — in how many respects the 
mountains and valleys, fountains and rivers, villages 
and cities, places and people, costumes and customs, are 
just as the Bible represents them to have been from two 
to four thousand years ago. 

As footnotes and special references encumber .the 
reader, I will here acknowledge my indebtedness to the 
following works : Biblical Researches in Palestine, and 
the Adjacent Regions, by Edward Robinson, D. D. 
LL. D. ; Narrative of the United States Expedition to 
the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, by W. F. Lynch, 
U. S. N. ; The Land and the Book, by W. M. Thomson, 



PREFACE. 



vii 



D. D. ; Sinai and Palestine, by Arthur Penrhyn Stan- 
ley, M. A. ; An Account of the Manners and Customs 
of the Modern Egyptians, by Edward William Lane ; 
A Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians, by Sir 
J. Gardner Wilkinson, D.C.L., F.B. S., etc.; Ancient 
Monasteries of the East, by the Hon. Kobert Curzon, 
Jun. ; Travels in the Holy Land, Egypt, etc., by Wil- 
liam Kae Wilson, LL. D., F.S.A. ; Five years in Da- 
mascus, by Eev. J. L. Porter, A.M., F.B.S.L.; The 
Desert of Sinai, by Horatius Bonar, D. D. ; Peise in 
das Gelobte Land, von E. W. Schultz ; Peise in das 
Morgenland, von Dr. Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert ; 
Sinai und Golgatha, von Friederich Adolph Strauss. 

The illustrations are designed to give the reader a 
clearer idea of some of the places spoken of in this 
book. The valley of Er-Pahah, as seen from the con- 
vent of Sinai, gives a view of the valley in which the 
Hebrews were encamped during the giving of the Law. 
Sinai is the mountain sloping up to the left of the ruins 
and the cypress trees; its top is not included in the 
cut. Ancient Jerusalem has the whole of Mount Zion 
covered with buildings, down to its base in the valleys 
of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom. Modern Jerusalem has 
no buildings on the southern slope of it, showing the 
changes which the city has undergone in this respect. 
Both views are taken from the south-east, from which the 
reader has a view of Gethsemane on the right of the city,. 
Immediately at the base of the hill, is the Kedron. The 



Vlll 



PREFACE. 



large building near the edge of this hill above the Kedron, 
inside of the wall, is the temple of Solomon in the old 
city, and the mosque of Omar at the same place in the 
new. Both these cuts include a view of the base of 
Olivet, the valleys of Kedron, Jehoshaphat, and part of 
the valley of Hinnom, as well as the whole of Jerusalem. 
The Garden of Gethsemane is seen from a short distance 
north of it, near the Kedron, and gives a true sketch 
of the old gnarly olive trees on this sacred spot. 

Chambersbtjrg, Pa. 

December 24th 1860. 



40* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
From Naples to Malta Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 
From Malta to Alexandria 25 

CHAPTER III. 
Cairo 37 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Pyramids — The Nile 54 

CHAPTER V. 
From Egypt to the Red Sea 82 

CHAPTER VI. 
From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai 101 

CHAPTER VII. 
From Mount Sinai to Ezion-Geber 144 



(ix) 



X CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
From Ezion-Geber to Petra and Beersheba 171 

CHAPTER IX 
From Beersheba to Jerusalem 202 

CHAPTER X. 
Jerusalem 222 

CHAPTER XI. 
Jerusalem and its Surroundings 244 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Wilderness of Judea — Jericho — the Jordan 282 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Dead Sea — Bethlehem 309 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Jerusalem — Bethel — Salem 336 

-CHAPTER XV. 
The Well of Jacob — Samaria , 353 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Esdryelon, or the Valley of Jezreel 373 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Nazareth and Mount Carmel .... 384 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Home of Mary and her Child 408 



CONTENTS. xi 

CHAPTER. XIX. 
A view from Tabor — The Sea of Tiberius 421 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Sea of Galilee — The "Waters of Merom — Cesarea 
Philippi 449 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Anti-Lebanon — Damascus — Baalbeck 474 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Ocele-Syria — Crossing the Lebanon — Beirout — Cities of 
the Sea-coast 501 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Homeward bound 524 



LIST 

OF 

IlIttsinttiflitJL 



Modern Jerusalem Frontispiece. 

Encamping Scene Page 89 

Er-Rahah 144 

Ancient Jerusalem 250 

Garden of Gethsemane 265 

Damascus 478 

(xii) 



A PILGRIMAGE 

TO THE 

LAND OF PROMISE. 



CHAPTER I. 



On the 6th. of February, when the sun was already as 
hot as a Pennsylvania June, we took our scanty luggage 
to the wharf at Naples, with a view of embarking for 
Malta. Here we were accosted by a surly official, de- 
manding a fee, or he would examine our baggage. We 
told him to proceed, which he had sense enough not to 
do, and left us with growling disappointment. After 
procuring tickets at the health-office, our half-clad boat- 
men paddled us ouF through the narrow openings left 
between the vessels floating in the bay, to the French 
steamer bound for Malta. At 3 P.M., the captain of the 
Orontes mounted the paddle-box and gave the word to 
start. She floated out into the bay, smoothly and gently 
as a gondola. How pleasures brighten as they take their 
flight ! A little world of natural beauty spread before 
the vision when we got out into the bay, growing prettier 
still as it receded into the distance. The vapor-crested 
2 (13) 



14 



THE BAY OF NAPLES. 



Vesuvius raised its heaving cone into the clear sky. Ca- 
maldolio, and other convents capping neighboring moun- 
tains, looked down upon Naples with a Benedictine mien. 
Baiae, Puteoli, Recina, Portici, Castellamare, and Sor- 
rento, all clustered around Naples, like children pluck- 
ing the robe of their mother. The city spread crescent- 
like around the bay, taking it into a half embrace, and 
sloping up gradually towards the hilly horizon. The 
houses turned whiter as they receded, and soon resem- 
bled huts of snow; the bay assumed the color of deepest 
"blue ; the sweet landscape in the rear melted away in 
soft green hues, while here and there a cloud-shadow 
floated over it. The Isles of Capri and Ischia rose out 
of the blue bay like sentinels at the door of this earthly 
Elysium. As day faded away into night, the pillar of 
cloud on Vesuvius became a pillar of fire, when dark- 
ness and distance soon hid from our view one of the 
most charming sights the eye of man has ever beheld — 
the bay of Naples and its environs. 

Going southward, we passed in sight of Stromboli, an 
active volcano on one of the Liparian isles. The next 
morning we reached Messina, on the eastern coast of 
Sicily. At the entrance of the Strait of Messina, we 
passed the famous Scylla and Charybdis, so much 
dreaded by the ancients. The foUher is a small rock 
projecting into the sea on the Italian coast. Adjoining 
it is a small village to which it gave its own name. The 
latter, immediately opposite to Scylla, in the middle of 
the Strait, is what once may have been a whirlpool, but 
no longer deserves that name. It is little more than an 
easy welling of the water, an earnest stirring of the sur- 
face, over which our boat passed without any perceptible 
labor or peril. Any one that comes down to this rock 



MESSINA. 



15 



and whirlpool "with his school-boy notions, or such as he 
derived from classical descriptions of a boiling whirlpool, 
which will send vessels spinning to the bottom, or dash 
them on the rock, will find, by the time he gets through, 
that there is more poetry than peril in the whole thing. 

Our boat tarried a few hours at Messina, one of the 
largest commercial cities of Sicily. Its situation is very 
romantic. It spreads back from the sea on a rising 
ground, while the mountains enclose and tower high 
above it. The harbor was full of vessels, taking cargoes 
of figs and oranges, which grow here in great abundance. 
The American frigate Constitution was lying at anchor 
off the city, with the stars and stripes proudly floating 
and flapping from her mast-head. I never could feel so 
sentimentally patriotic — or patriotically sentimental — 
as to be flung into ecstacies by "the stars-and-stripes " 
eloquence for which our country is so famous. But the 
sight of our national ensign, in a far-off sea, reminded 
me that, even there, the protecting wing of the American 
eagle was spread over me ; and I felt a sense of home 
contentment and a touch of national pride, such as I had 
never known or felt before. At noon, the band of the 
frigate performed several national airs, which the soft 
breeze from the orange fields wafted over the placid 
waters, sounding like words of hope and peace from the 
home-land. 

A few of us hired a small boat and went ashore. We 
sallied through the principal streets, visited the cathedral, 
and found that the general appearance of the city was 
like that of most Italian cities, where Art and filth leave 
much to praise and blame. Walking along the wharf, 
we passed a poor Sicilian who had met with an accident, 
which caused him to bleed most profusely. My pity 



16 



A NARROW ESCAPE. 



being excited, I looked at this man, while my friends 
went on board a merchant vessel from Boston, to see the 
captain. After losing sight of them, I attempted to 
follow over a long swinging plank, which was laid from 
shore to ship. When I reached midway, the plank com- 
menced swinging, my feet slipped, knees smote together, 
head reeled, and could neither advance nor retreat. I 
had often hung on capering creek-planks, swinging over 
the water, but never knew what it was to prepare one's- 
self for a plunge to the bottom of the sea. As I looked 
down into the deep water, in a fearful plight, a voice 
called to me in broken English, from below: "Do you 
wish to get down, sir ? " The next moment, my unknown 
deliverer had me by the hand and led me back, quickly 
gave me a parting grasp, with a smiling " good-bye," and 
hurried off, scarcely giving me time to thank him. 
Often since have I had grateful thoughts of that stranger, 
and wished to learn his name. So our Merciful Father 
sends unknown helpers when we are in peril, a messenger 
or " angel of the Lord," to do his fatherly pleasure. 

Our steamer departed in the middle of the afternoon, 
and towards evening we passed Rhegium, on the coast 
of Calabria, at the south of Italy, where Paul tarried a 
day on his way to Rome. Acts 28 : 3. In 1783, the 
town was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake. 
Of late years it has been partly rebuilt again, and now 
numbers about 17,000 inhabitants. Dense clouds and 
heavy showers hid Mt. iEtna, which we passed without 
getting even a glimpse of it. So too with Syracuse, like- 
wise a stopping place of Paul, which night and a squall 
of rain concealed. Acts 27 : 12. The ancient city 
had over a million of inhabitants, the modern one only 
10,000. 



THE ISLAND OF MALTA. 



17 



The next morning we awoke in the harbor of Malta. 
When I came on deck the bare hills of the rock-bound 
isle were just bathed with the soft light of the rising sun. 
No trees could be seen, only houses and rocks, with here 
and there a green patch of grass or grain in a small dell. 
It was the Sabbath-day, and methought I had neyer seen 
such a pleasing image of Sabbath-repose as this island, 
way down here in this rough- sea, whose firm heights were 
greeted by the first rays of the rising sun. While waiting 
to be taken ashore, and seated on deck, I read the account 
of Paul's visit to Melita, whose name has since then been 
changed into Malta. 

We took up our quarters in Valetta, the chief town of 
the island. The shops and stores were all closed, the 
bells sent their plaintive peals from every spire, and a 
devout-looking throng wended their way to the sanc- 
tuary, already at an early hour. We attended service at 
the Scotch Presbyterian church. A young Caledonian 
preached an edifying discourse, after which the commu- 
nion of the Lord's Supper was administered. A general 
invitation was given to all present, and under the cir- 
cumstances we felt greatly desirous to commune with 
them. As the services proceeded, we found that tokens 
were demanded at the table. Of course only the mem- 
bers had tokens, so that while all believers present were 
cordially invited, only members were permitted to com- 
mune, — a species of fraternity very common in these 
days of sectarian strife, which has the word but not the 
power of the Catholic spirit. But withal, a most refresh- 
ing day of rest this was, contrasting very pleasantly with 
the Sabbaths we had spent at Naples during the month 
before. 

Malta is but a small island, about sixty miles in cir- 



18 



POSITION OF MALTA. 



cumference, and derives its main importance from its 
peculiar position in the Mediterranean. It forms a kind 
of gateway between the Occident and the Orient. To 
this it is mainly indebted for its numerous captures. Its 
position has made it a bone of contention among Eu- 
ropean nations for many centuries. After passing through 
the hands of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthagenians, and 
Romans, it was taken by the Arabs, A. D. 870, who 
introduced their language, which is still an ingredient of 
the Maltese dialect. In 1120 the Normans took it ; after 
them successively the Germans, French, and Spaniards. 
In 1530 Charles V. gave it to the Order of the Knights 
of St. John, from whom Napoleon I. took it in 1798, on 
his way to Egypt. And in 1800 the English took pos- 
session of it. 

On its rock-coast, indented by natural harbors, the 
waves of the sea and war have lashed and broken for 
many centuries. Originally it was a naked mass of rocks. 
The most of the soil was brought hither on ships from 
Sicily. The fields are terraced off into small plots, hedged 
in by high walls, so as to hide vegetation, and give to 
the island a most bleak and verdureless appearance. I 
found no trees, save the Carub, which bears a small pulpy 
tartish fruit, and the prickly pear, which looks like our 
cactus grown to the size of a peach tree. 

The stones are soft, and of a whitish-grey color. They 
dress them for building purposes with broad-axes, cutting 
them off in chips as if they were blocks of wood. The 
climate was pleasant, quite June-like. A soft sea-breeze 
kept fanning the island all day long. In summer it is 
said to be very hot. 

The Maltese are a branch of the Arabic stock, but 
their habits have been modified by their governors. The 



HABITS OF THE MALTESE. 



10 



population is a mixture of the most diversified national 
ingredients, and the streets exhibit an odd compound 
of costumes. The Turk in petticoat-breeches, his brow 
wreathed with a clumsy turban ; the swarthy Nubian, 
with his red, tasselled cap ; the tidy hair-be-greased, red- 
coated English soldier; Italians, Arabs, Russians, and 
Americans, in short, all nations are huddled together 
here in peaceful confusion. My nearest neighbor was a 
huge Turk, who, like a genuine nabob, swung his gaudy 
attire in lofty style. The females have uniform head- 
dresses, consisting of a large black silk scarf, worn over 
the head and shoulders, and gathered into folds at one 
side, which imparts a sombre aspect to the streets and 
churches on Sundays. Partly from taste and partly 
from poverty, they still live in happy ignorance of the 
luxuries of more civilized life. The more fortunate ride 
on a sort of litter, composed of two shafts, with one end 
on high, heavy wheels, and the other, hung to a horse's 
back. A heavy cab is hung on straps in the middle, 
which swings like a ship on a troubled sea, while the 
driver runs nimbly along the side, leading the animal at a 
rope. Another vehicle for more common use, is a small 
dray on high wheels, with a mat spread over it, on which 
passengers sit in Eastern style. A short time previous 
a few omnibuses had been imported from England to run 
between the larger villages — a novelty which made quite 
a stir among the Maltese, few of whom had ever been off 
of the island. 

Say what you will, our English cousins are- politically 
and socially more nearly akin to us than any other na- 
tion. They have their prickly repulsive points, their 
exclusive insularity ; but coming from a government 
where gunpowder plots are things of daily occurrence, 



20 



ST. PAUL'S DAT IN MALTA. 



and impending anarchy a thing known and read of all 
men (as we had found it at Naples), the flag of Britain, 
and the air of substantial security found in all her do- 
minions, are a grateful change. Nowhere, since I had 
left the soil of England, had I inhaled such an atmosphere 
of home comfort as on this island. The moment I put 
my foot ashore, I felt satisfied that I was where the 
rulers and the ruled would not be likely to change places 
very soon. What a difference in governments ! Italy, 
with a most salubrious climate, has many thousand acres 
of as fine land as the sun ever shone upon, unploughed, 
unsown, and unreaped, while her famishing beggars have 
neither bread nor labor. And here, on this little heap 
of rocks, made arable with the soil of a neighboring 
island, live and labor one hundred and fifty thousand 
people, thrifty, contented, and comparatively happy. 

The day after our arrival was St. Paul's day, — a 
general holiday. -The main streets were densely crowded 
with Maltese, from every part of the island, who, from 
early morning, hurried merrily into Valetta on their drays, 
donkeys, and litters. Their large bells are seldom rung, 
but rapidly hammered upon. This day they kept up an 
incessant ding-dong clattering and almost deafening 
noise. In St. Paul's church an ecclesiastic preached to 
a large crowd, who seemed to listen with devout atten- 
tion. I could not understand the sermon, but there was 
a ferocity in his voice and gestures, that put all devo- 
tion at defiance. In the meanwhile the streets resounded 
with the firing of crackers and pistols, for the edification 
of the less devout. In the evening the Catholic portions 
of the city were illuminated. Two gothic arches spanned 
St. Paul's street, hung with blazing festoons ; a dashing 
evolution of fireworks from these arches, spitting and 



CATACOMBS OF CI VITA VECCHIA. 



21 



whirling out blazing forms, closed the ceremonies of the 
day. 

Near the southeastern end of the island we found the 
remains of an ancient building, the castle of Creni, which 
may possibly have belonged to its primitive settlers. 
Large blocks of stone are rudely piled up, while some 
have been displaced by earthquakes and other causes. 
At Civita Vecchia we entered a small cell, which is 
honored by many as the abode of Paul while he tarried 
here. Being furnished with tapers, we were led down a 
dark stairway into the catacombs. These underground 
cities, which we also had found at Rome and Naples, all 
seem cast over the same mould. Those at Rome extend 
many miles under the ground, and have so many crooked 
alleys branching out, that strangers once lost in them, 
or having their light put out, have no hope of ever 
getting to daylight again. We stooped through the 
low narrow passages ramifying in different directions. 
Here and there shelves and coffins were cut out of 
the rocky sides, where the silent tenants of the sun- 
less city once slept. Strange life some of those poor 
ancients must have led, whose dead were never buried 
out of their sight ; — the living and the dead dwelling 
together. 

Tradition has fixed upon a small bay on the eastern 
coast of the island, as the place where Paul was ship- 
wrecked. He is said to have first landed on a small 
island in the mouth of the bay, near which the ship had 
stranded. I saw nothing that looked like the " certain 
creek with a shore, into which they were minded, if it 
were possible, to thrust in the ship;" unless it might 
have been the narrow channel between the small island 
and the shore. This, too, might be the place where two 



22 SCENE OE PAUL'S SHIPWRECK. 

seas met. Acts 27. There are rocks enough above 
and below water to wreck any ship during a storm. He 
says they "were driven up and down in Adria," which 
perhaps means the Adriatic. And so the island of 
Meleda, in this sea, has come to claim the honor of 
having received Paul from the wreck. Malta is dry and 
rocky, has no snakes or vipers, had none in the time of 
Pliny. Meleda is famous for being wet and woody, and 
might naturally furnish the viper that " fastened on his 
hand." But this is about all that can be said in its favor. 
Fevers and other malignant diseases are found at both 
places. Still, I think the evidence preponderates in 
favor of Malta. I felt happy in believing that my eyes 
rested on the sea that bore and broke his ship. Listen- 
ing to the roar of the foam-crested waves as they broke 
on the rough coast, methought I could see the crew light- 
ening the ship, and cast the wheat into the sea, — some 
cast themselves first into the sea and swam to land, " the 
rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the 
ship," drifted ashore, two hundred and seventy-six in 
all, — and finally Paul, almost exhausted, coming out of 
the sea, dripping and trembling with cold. Acts 27. 

In winter a stormy sea is still very common in this part 
of the Mediterranean, as I afterwards learned from bitter 
experience. After tarrying three months, Paul took pas- 
sage in an Alexandrian ship ; showing that then, as now, 
there was communication between Alexandria and Malta. 
Then, as now, ships were known by certain names. The 
name of his ship was Castor and Pollux. Sailing ves- 
sels are more at the mercy of the waves than steamers ; 
so this ship " had wintered in the isle," till the sea would 
calm into a safer mood. They sailed north, touched at 
Syracuse, where they spent three days, and then passed 



PAUL AT ROME. 



23 



round to Rhegium ; then a south wind, which usually 
blows in the spring, helped them on to Puteoli, near 
Naples, in sight of Baiae, the pride of the voluptuous 
Romans. Here they " found brethren, and were desired 
to tarry with them seven days." A few piers still mark 
the site of the old Roman wharf at Naples, perhaps part 
of that on which Paul landed. Then, after seven days 
he went on his way towards Rome, a prisoner among pri- 
soners, through Eden-like plains, teeming with luxury and 
lust. Part of our journey from Rome to Naples was over 
the old Appian Way, which they travelled. At Appii Fo- 
rum " the brethren came to meet" them. A gloomy soli- 
tary inn at present marks this spot. It is in the heart of 
the Pontine Marshes, whose deadly swamps fill the air with 
poisonous exhalations. But few persons venture hither, 
and these hasten away again as soon as they have at- 
tended to their flocks. Those that remain look sallow and 
sickly. Twenty-five miles beyond this is Cisterna, built 
on the ruins of the Three Taverns. Forty miles further 
they reached Rome ; a long walk they had after such an 
exhausting sea voyage. Feeble by nature, and fatigued 
by a tedious journey, the prisoner must have made a 
weak and harmless appearance, in the sight of the proud 
glutted Romans. Poor man, he felt weak and alone in 
his chains ; but when he saw the brethren, he " thanked 
God and took courage." 

Rome then looked prouder and more powerful than 
now. The country along the Appian Way, now mostly 
deserted, was strewn with the villas of wealthy Romans. 
No steamer then rode over the swelling sea ; but the 
grass, foliage, and sky of Italy, looked as pretty then as 
now. The waters of the sea were as blue as now. Paul 
saw the same islands we saw. His ship rocked like ours, 



24 



APOSTOLIC TRIALS. 



and the sequel proved that he and his companions were 
made of like stuff with ourselves. For fourteen days 
they had eaten nothing, for the very good reason that 
the swinging of the ship had kept them sea-sick all the 
while. At length he had to press food upon them for 
their "health." I have had a lesson in this kind of 
"fasting," which aids me greatly in appreciating the 
narrative. The steward might bring the choicest dish, 
and entreat me to take a little to keep up strength ; hut 
the bare sight of it would provoke an ill temper in 
stomach and spirit. Only by dint of a mighty effort 
could the start be made. Thus Paul sailed, suffered, 
swam, and walked towards Rome, as every mortal has 
to do who carries about with him a frail human body ; 
but an imposing character after all, towering high above 
his cotemporaries in true greatness. Where is there 
an emperor or philosopher with a name or fame like 
Paul's ? Rome, with her ancient greatness, has toppled 
over ; her annals now only " point a moral or adorn a 
tale," while he wrought at an empire which has outlived 
and shall continue to outlive earth's proudest kingdoms. 



EMBARK FOR EGYPT. 



25 



CHAPTER II. 



" Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." We were 
on our way to Alexandria, but it so happened that the 
sea rolled across our path. For two long days the 
English and French steamers were due, always coming 
yet never came. One was due on the Sabbath. Should 
we start on a voyage on the Lord's day ? Beneath the 
wings of "Sweet Home," we should say, no. But this 
is rather a dreary island when one is done with it. And 
we cannot leave unless the boat leaves, and to loiter and 
lounge lazily about here for weeks until some chance 
ship may happen to pass along on a week day, when a 
few weeks' detention might spoil much of a man's jour- 
ney in the East, was rather a serious test of our Sabbatic 
fidelity. But the non-arrival of the boat relieved us of 
further trouble on this point. On the following evening 
we received word that the small French steamer Valetta, 
which had lain in the harbor a few days, would start for 
Alexandria. The night was dark as Erebus. The bark 
that took us out on board stirred up the phosphorescent 
water. Every beat of the oars rolled off a luminous 
wave, so that our course left a fiery trail on the sea. 
The water seemed surcharged with phosphorus, which 
the stirring of the oars and paddle-wheels spun over the 
sea in gleaming sheets of light, that looked unearthly in 
3 



26 



UNPLEASANT SEA VOYAGE. 



the dark night. At ten, the creaking of the machinery 
commenced, by which time I had firmly fixed myself 
into a narrow crib, to keep in readiness for any disposi- 
tion the sea might make of me. Gently it cradled me 
to sleep. Next morning I arose well pleased, for I had 
made up my mind to get sick. But walking up the 
stairway the sea swelled, the boat suddenly rose and fell, 
and there it had me. I staggered up and down the 
rocking deck, firmly bent to brave the sea, at all 
hazards ; but again I was defeated. I could not get to 
the table for three days and a half, until we disembarked. 
Long days and nights those were through which I pined 
and sighed, listening to the roar of the sea and the tread 
of the sailors on deck. And a precious time it was to 
meditate upon Paul's stormy voyage to Malta, to which 
I did ample justice, in the meanwhile wondering whether 
I could not get back to it, or to some other spot of dry 
ground which would not rock and roll me into such tor- 
ments. A young merchant from Hamburg was in the 
same state-room with myself, whom I did not learn to 
know until we had reached Cairo. This shows how un- 
companionable a man is when in such a state. Long - 
shall I remember that villainous Valetta, rolling like a 
coffee roaster in the hands of a diligent woman. 

On the morning of the fourth day, the low land of 
Egypt hove in sight, which cured me at once. In a 
moment I was on deck with spy-glass in hand, healthy 
and happy, eager to get a glimpse of the first object that 
met the view. Tall columns, like furnace chimneys, with 
large wheels hung perpendicularly to the outside, we dis- 
covered to be windmills. The country receded far as 
the eye could reach, into a low, fiat, sandy plain. My 
heart beat with expectant joy at the sight of Pompey's 



ALEXANDRIA. 



27 



pillar, the stately way-mark of the mariners for more 
than two thousand years; and when I saw the minarets 
of Alexandria, I felt that some of my long-cherished 
dreams were about to be realized. 

The harbor contained a large number of vessels from 
different nations ; most of them flourished small red 
flags from their mast-heads, with the crescent and a star, 
reminding us that we were entering upon Mohammedan 
dominions. • Our boat weighed anchor opposite the quay, 
which soon poured a swarthy mob of boisterous, turbaned 
boatmen after us. These raised a fearful commotion, 
all screaming and shouting at the top of their voices, 
clamoring and scolding to get nearest the boat, snarling 
and snapping as if ready to devour each other, fisting about 
most ferociously, until the noise became almost deafening. 
They barked their deep gutterals at us, reminding one 
of a set of hungry wolves, trying to get a frightened man 
from a tree. "We descended into the bark of one of these 
yelping beings, to go ashore. In the meanwhile a regi- 
ment, of a score or two of donkeys, with blear-eyed half- 
naked drivers, had assembled on the shore to escort us 
to the hotel. The captain of our little party, Mr. C, 
from Boston, possessing the rare gift of making men of 
all tongues understand English, told them we wanted 
none. "VVe pushed our way through the street, with the 
whole crowd of men and animals tightly around us, all 
screaming u Howajee," "good donkey," and whipping 
them on to us. We were separated in the scuffle, each 
pushing and kicking his way slowly along. Looking 
around for my comrades, I saw two Arabs seizing Mr. 
E., one at each leg, and carrying him, nolens volens, over 
the noisy crowd, to set him on their donkey. The poor 
fellow blushed and blowed, scolded them in good Eng- 



28 



IMPRESSIONS OF THE ORIENT. 



lish, and pommelled their cushioned heads with all the 
power of his little tailor fists ; but have him they would, 
and have him they did. Just then two soldiers came 
along, armed with a club and gun. with which they 
pitched into these vagabonds, and soon made them drop 
their unwilling prize. His fall was even more abrupt 
than his elevation. This dispersed the pestering crew, 
and being left to go our way without further trouble, we 
soon reached the Frank quarter. This consists of a 
large square in the upper part of the city, where we 
were cleverly housed in the Hotel de l'Europe. 

Many are the charms and defects, comforts and dis- 
comforts, which an Oriental city possesses for a man from 
the western world. True, our reception on this threshold 
of the Orient was somewhat boisterous, but this was 
soon forgotten amid the rush of novelty. One is pre- 
pared to be pleased with the most outlandish and unre- 
fined sights, for the mere sake of seeing them. The 
streets swarming with odd costumes and no costumes ; 
the gay bazaars or shops in dark narrow streets, roofed 
over, each shop or store being like a large cupboard, 
where the bronze-complexioned salesman sits tailor-fashion 
in the door, through which he sells to persons in the 
street, he the meanwhile smoking his two-yard long pipe, 
with another by his side, for the entertainment of the 
next customer ; the unknown and unseen females rust- 
ling by with shuffling tread, in their inflated balloon-like 
dresses, which, but for two eyes blinking through little 
holes in their veils, might be taken for bales of silk or 
white linen endowed with self-locomotion ; others wrapped 
in coarse blue cloth, filthy as the earth, with half-blind 
scabby children astride a shoulder, and holding on to the 
head ; the crowds of solemn-looking street-loungers, with 



POMPEYS PILLAR. 



29 



a tight heavy-clothed red cap, and a thick twisted white 
cloth wrapped around the temple, called a turban, petti- 
coat-breeches, tight roundabout, sometimes a scarlet 
robe folded round them ; then comes a lady astride a 
donkey, folded in gorgeous silks, with a half-naked 
driver, scolding a passage through the crowd ; long 
lines of camels laden with large skins and kegs of water, 
threading the streets in single file, high over the sea of 
thick white heads ; all these combine to form a scene of 
unimaginable interest. 

Mounting our donkeys, we rode out to Pompey's pillar, 
which is in the old part of the city. The way thither 
led over piles of debris, and along streets of squalid 
huts, the abode of disease-brooding filth, famine, and 
nakedness. Here and there were clumps of palm trees, 
whose tops sighed mournfully over the grave of the 
departed city. What a world of pride and passion, of 
long-forgotten glory rotted and dead, lies buried in this 
tomb of the past ! The pillar stands on an elevation, 
which overlooks a vast district of land and sea. It is 
composed of one solid block of red granite, ninety feet 
high and nine feet in diameter. All around it are 
mounds and hills, covering the ruins of Egypt's great- 
ness. A half-exhumed house here, and a broken column 
there, remind one that he is walking over the monuments 
of one of the greatest nations of antiquity. On our 
return we passed the famous obelisk called Cleopatra's 
Needle, likewise composed of red granite. The hiero- 
glyphics on one side have been partly worn away, per- 
haps by the action of the Sirocco, blowing in upon it 
from the desert for 3500 years. Another colossal obe- 
lisk lies prostrate near by. One of these was erected 
sixteen centuries before our era. 
3* 



30 



HISTORY OF ALEXANDRIA. 



The modern Alexandria bears little resemblance to 
the ancient; many of its leading merchants and traders 
are Europeans. The arrangement and aspect of the 
city are not purely Oriental. Alexander the Great 
founded the old city, to form a connecting link between 
the East and the West ; and this office it still performs, 
especially since India has been opened to European trade. 
The old city had 600,000 inhabitants ; the present one 
has 40,000. Here the famous Alexandrian library was 
founded, containing 700,000 volumes, and which helped 
to make Alexandria the centre of ancient learning. In 
the second century before Christ, the Old Testament 
was here translated into Greek, — a version called the 
Septuagint,— which conveyed the word of God to learned 
heathen, and prepared the way for the coming of Christ. 
"A certain Jew, named Apollos, an eloquent man and 
mighty in the Scriptures, was born at Alexandria." 
Acts 18 : 24. Clemens and Origin founded catecheti- 
cal schools here, in which scientific Christian theology 
was first taught. Here, too, we find Athanasius, one of 
the greatest champions of the early Church. When 
Amrou took it in 640, he said : " I have taken the great 
city of the West, which contains 4000 palaces, 4000 
baths, 400 theatres, 12,000 shops, and contains 40,000 
tributary Jews." But her ancient glory has departed. 
Long since the desolation foretold by the prophet has 
come upon her. " Son of man, wail for the multitude 
of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daugh- 
ters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the 
earth, with them that go down into the pit." Ezekiel 
32 : 18. Her commerce and trade are, however, re- 
viving, and the present posture of things in the East would 
seem to assign her an important position for the future. 



JOURNEY ALONG THE NILE. 



31 



It may be of interest to the reader to know the price 
of living in a first-class hotel of Alexandria. Boarding, 
§2.40 a day, 24 cents for service, and 12 cents for light, 
no matter whether you use any or not. And most tra- 
vellers would cheerfully give a servant another shilling 
or two to brush the hungry fleas away while they at- 
tempt to sleep. I had hoped that a house entertaining 
most of the India passengers, would protect one against 
vermin. The motion of the sea which followed me into 
my land-berth, kept the room rocking and swinging, 
which, added to the flea-scourge, was not easily borne by 
one so much in need of rest. 

Feb. 21. The next morning, our donkeys ambled with 
a quick pace towards the depot, and soon the train 
dashed us along the Nile over the fertile plains of Egypt. 
The shrill whistle sounded strangely along the banks of 
this ancient river. Coming to an arm of the Nile, the 
train was put on a bridge ; but instead of crossing over 
it, the train stood still and the bridge crossed. It was 
partly of iron, with only one span finished, which was so 
made as to move from one bank to the other, carrying 
the trains across by means of a stationary engine. 

On our way we passed a village where a vast multi- 
tude had assembled, and a caravan was approaching, 
three miles long, all on a pilgrimage to the tomb of a 
Moslem saint at this place. At another town, a medley 
procession came out, celebrating the nuptials of some 
happy couple. Some played with timbrels, dancing and 
singing before the crowd. 2 Sam. 6 : 14. 

The country teemed with luxuriant vegetation — wheat, 
flax, beans, oats, and tall grass. Small flocks of cattle 
were grazing in all directions. As they have no fences 
here, they generally tie their cattle to wooden pins, 



32 



PYRAMIDS OF CAIRO. 



driven into the ground. The towns were on little eleva- 
tions, where the Nile flood cannot reach them. All the 
houses were built of unburnt brick, resembling mud huts 
or magnified ant hills. The streets were full of dust 
and debris, on which men, women, and yelping dogs 
were promiscuously seated. The country was intersected 
by canals, on whose banks buffaloes and oxen were yoked 
to long beams, which worked wheels to pump water. 

Nearly two hours before we reached Cairo, some one 
shouted, "the Pyramids;" and sure enough, there the 
w r orld-renowned Pyramids rose on the horizon. No 
larger than that ? said I to myself. For at a distance 
of thirty miles, their imposing size appears considerably 
smaller than the reality. But to be whirled and whistled 
toward the city of the Pharaohs and the Pyramids of 
Egypt, on a locomotive train, gives one much to think 
about. Dark-visaged Bedouins, the roving children of 
Esau, gazed with wild but speechless amazement, at the 
steaming, puffing monster, dashing by them. When the 
train halted in a nineteenth-century depot, I could scarcely 
realize that I was at Grand Cairo in Egypt. After 
giving our baggage to a porter, we passed into the street. 
A rabble crowd of donkey drivers stood in waiting at 
the outside. They gently held their peace until we had 
worked ourselves out of the vast crowd of Turks, Arabs, 
Ethiopians, and Egyptians ; but then switches whizzed 
in all directions, and a dense blockade of fifty or a hun- 
dred donkeys quickly wedged us in, each driver trying 
to get nearest the stranger. The air was filled with 
clouds of dust, and the hideous vociferous noise of bray- 
ing asses and their shrieking drivers. Our little party, 
unaccustomed to such a mode of warfare, was soon 
thrown into confusion and separated from each other. 



AN UNPLEASANT SITUATION. 



33 



Each one had to fight his own battle. Gladly would I 
have mounted a donkey to escape the frightful confusion 
and the danger of being trodden under foot by them, 
but the tightly packed pile around me completely fet- 
tered my limbs. A few earnest blows drove them into a 
momentary retreat, but when they discovered my willing- 
ness to ride, each was determined that it should be on 
his donkey. They made a desperate rush. It was too 
much even for a man of some patience to bear. Throw- 
ing moral suasion to the winds, I carried the war into 
the enemy's camp, cutting and slashing away indiscrimi- 
nately at man and beast. Not possessed of a great deal 
of foresight, they had walled themselves in among a 
dense heap of asses, so that a sudden retreat was im- 
possible. They became entangled among their animals. 
I got within reach of a stout athletic Arab, who was 
completely hobbled among the confused mass. He 
vainly tried to extricate himself by jumping out of it, 
as if ready to run away over their backs, pushing and 
pommeling the long-eared and long-headed animals with 
a desperate energy. He twisted and shrugged his 
shoulders, and cast a savage and revengeful look at me, 
as blow after blow thwacked across his broad back. The 
rabble was dispersed, and ere they could rally again, we 
were galloping off towards Shepherd's Hotel. The ar- 
gument of the rod is clear and convincing to men of 
every tongue. I might perhaps have performed this 
earnest duty from more amiable motives; still, a duty it 
was, and I have reason to hope that its vigorous per- 
formance taught the Egyptian better manners. 

Shepherd's Hotel, at the edge of the city, is the only 
one worthy of the name in Cairo. It is delightfully 
situated, fronting on a spacious 'square with large trees, 

C 



34 



SUNDAY IN CAIRO. 



having the city on one side and the country on the 
other. The whole is on a thoroughfare, where small and 
great, with an occasional dash of the nobility, continu- 
ally pass. The streets pour out long lines of laden 
camels ; scores of donkeys, each bearing a skin of water, 
looking like a black scalded hog with the grease oozing 
out in the hot sun ; females on decorated donkeys ; offi- 
cers with noble steeds richly caparisoned ; coaches of 
the Pashas with footmen running ahead to clear the way 
and telling them who is coming. Pharaoh made Joseph 
to ride in the second chariot which he had, and they 
cried before him: "Bow the knee." Gen. 41 : 43. I 
found that the Pasha of Egypt and his men of state 
were always preceded by such runners, opening the way 
and urging the people to show their respect. 

The next day was the Sabbath, but the streets were 
just as noisy and full of stir as the day before. The 
Mohammedans have their Sabbath on Friday, and the 
Jews on Saturday, so that in the East the people have 
three Sabbaths in a week ; but none of these, not even 
the Mohammedan Sabbath, is a general day of rest. 
The push, drive, and confusion, is equally great on all 
days. In the morning we attended services at the chapel 
of the English Church Missionary Society. Dr. Lieder, 
a German clergyman, preached a very edifying sermon 
in broken English, on Numbers 23 : 10. The small 
room was pretty well filled. In the court of the chapel 
we met two Egyptian lads, neatly dressed, who bade us 
"Good morning." Asking whether they were Chris- 
tians, one replied, " Yes, and my father and mother are 
Christians too." They seemed so happy that they could 
tell us this of their parents. In the afternoon we went 
to a small "upper ropm," in a third story, in the 



MISSIONARY LIFE IN EGYPT. 



35 



house of the American missionaries. Rev. Mr. Edwards, 
an Independent minister, from London, preached an 
excellent discourse on Romans 10 : 2-3. to twenty-three 
hearers, mostly travellers. The following Sabbath I 
attended an Arabic service at the same place. There 
were only half a dozen natives present. The mission is 
supported by the Associate Reformed Church, and has 
had to encounter formidable difficulties. How few Chris- 
tians have the faintest conception of the trials of most 
foreign missionaries ! They labor patiently for years to 
acquire the language, at best but imperfectly. They 
spend years more of persevering toil, and even then 
find the immediate results apparently small. Still to 
labor on in these circumstances without discouragement, 
shows a degree of faith which few possess. 

Our first business in exploring the wonders of Egypt, 
was to form a more intimate acquaintance with the tribe 
of donkey drivers. Eor these donkeys or asses are the 
carryalls of the East, serving for wheelbarrows, drays, 
carts, cabs, and omnibuses. Dozens would congregate 
around our door, and the moment some newly-arrived 
traveller made his appearance, switches whizzed, and 
suddenly all asses rushed around their victim. A friend 
returning from his first hour's ride paid fifty cents, after 
his driver had made a boisterous clamor that no less 
could be taken. The usual rate is from five to ten cents. 
This was our first lesson. They seem to be a merry 
race. While pushing and patting their animals onward, 
they entertain the rider with fragments of sailor's Eng- 
lish. For several days my driver kept shouting, "By 
and by, howajee, by and by;" by which he meant, as 
I afterwards learned, that I should not ride so fast. 
They are remarkably nimble-footed, wearing but a loose 



36 



EGYPTIAN DONKEYS. 



shirt for their apparel. Their limbs and consciences 
seem alike free from tenderness ; they can run and lie 
with equal celerity. 

As beasts of burden, and even for convenient easy 
gait, the donkey is not to be despised. With a driver, 
as each one has here, skilful in the use of the switch, it 
is an excellent animal for safe and comfortable carriage. 
It is the ass of the Bible, the same as those which the 
brethren of Joseph "laded with corn" which Jacob sent 
them hither to buy. On " the colt of an ass " our Sa- 
viour made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Though 
easily mounted, at first it seems an awkward business 
for a man full grown, or perhaps a little more so, to 
ride on such a diminutive relic of antiquity. I found 
that I could almost ride and walk without shifting my 
position. One should suppose that a seat so near the 
ground would render a tumble an easy and short pro- 
cess, but we found it just the opposite. Every day some 
one of our little party would suddenly be sent sprawling 
from an easy amble to take his position in the dust, and 
that too with such a crushing, head-foremost, neck- 
breaking tumble, as to make it a most serious operation. 
It is not always the highest fall which is the hardest. 
When one sits on such a small lump of flesh and blood, 
he seems so closely identified with it, and nothing to 
catch a hold of, that a stumble of the one almost simul- 
taneously produces a tumble of the other. Nothing can 
be more excruciatingly unmusical than the braying of 
an ass. He screeches out his distressing noise with dis- 
tended nostrils, flinging his ears and jerking his head, 
as if in the last kicks of strangulation. The sound is 
something between the filing of a large saw, and a well- 
rosined horse-fiddle. The first thought it provokes is to 
run away, or dash after him with a cane. 



STREETS OF CAIRO. 



37 



CHAPTER III. 



The population of Cairo is variously estimated from 
200,000 to 250,000. The city is like a vast hive, swarm- 
ing through the shop-streets, called bazaars. These are 
mostly roofed. The tradesmen have their goods in stalls, 
like large cupboards. They sit cross-legged in the doors, 
which are like our store-shutters, while men and animals 
buy and bray in the streets. Each shop usually deals in 
but one article. One has coffee, another rice, another 
olives, another pipes, etc. The variety of costumes and 
faces, added to the loud roar of the noisy multitude, at 
first produces an effect almost bewildering. On almost 
every street-corner donkeys wait for a rider. With 
labor we worm our way through the multitude of men 
and animals. Ethiopians, Turks, and Franks, are all 
jostled together. All look sad and surly. One-fourth 
of the crowd are half or wholly blind. Now and then 
we meet a Consul or Pasha, with a line of attendants cut- 
ting and scolding a passage through the dense mass. 
Then some mounted official worms his way through the 
jam, on a noble Arab horse, preceded by a runner, who 
shouts his name to the crowd, and tells them how much 
they should honor and make way for him. Here a fat, 
puffing epicure comes swaggering along, followed by a 
pipe-bearer, carrying his master's chibouque after him, 
4 



88 



FEMALES OF CAIRO. 



so that he can smoke when he takes a fancy. There goes 
a string of females, the wives of a Moslem. A number of 
black eunuchs, with faces blank and emotionless, attend 
and watch them. Veiled women, wrapped in linen white 
as snow, face and all ; others in black or yellow silk, 
shuffle clumsily along, pretending to avoid our gaze. 
Here and there a veiled head moves above the crowd ; 
as it approaches you discover that it belongs to a woman, 
riding astride a donkey, after the fashion of men. But 
the great bulk of females in this hive, whose faces are not 
hid, are distressingly filthy, ragged, haggard, and coarse- 
featured ; all dressed in dirty blue garments, loosely 
thrown around them, with faces half or wholly unveiled. 
Little blear-eyed children are perched astride a shoulder 
of the mother, holding fast to her head, while she trudges 
along as if unconscious of her load. Isaiah 49 : 22. 
"And thy daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.'' 
Still a custom in the East. Blind men grope along the 
swarming streets, feeling for the walls of the houses to 
guide them, crying, " buckshish, buckshish," (a gift, a 
gift,) while their vacant eyeballs stare skyward. As un- 
seen strangers drop a para into their hands, they invoke 
the Prophet's blessing upon the merciful. While gazing 
at these blind beggars, a shriek of distress startles me. 
Oh, for pity ! There is a poor man cringing in the corner 
of a merchant's stall, like a dog beneath the lash of his 
master, while another one beats him with a stick. He 
cries with a loud voice for help, as if every bone in his 
body were about to break, but the crowd passes him 
unheeded by. 

At Cairo the bazaars are already alive with a busy 
crowd at sunrise, except during the month of Ramadan, 
the Lent of the Mahommedans. Most of the business is 



CAIRO AT NIGHT. 



39 



transacted in the morning. Many of the shops are closed 
at noon. In the middle of the afternoon the crowd thins 
away ; the rush and roar become a faint hum ; and by 
nightfall the swarm has receded into the hive. 

The government allows none to go out after night with- 
out a lantern. Persons of rank have runners preceding 
their horses, carrying pine torches on the top of a pole 
in an iron grating. The red flame blazing up fiery smoke, 
dashed through the dark streets, and followed by the 
pompous train of some nabob, helps to form a picturesque 
scene. During the hot weather most people sleep in the 
open air, some on housetops, servants in court-yards, and 
many poor people sleep in open places and the courts of 
mosques. At ten we take a guide with a lantern to see 
the night of Cairo. The city asleep is silent as the 
grave. Not the whisper of a sound is heard far or near. 
Not even the baying of a watch-dog. I thought the 
trees we passed might have shaken their leaves a little. 
But leaves were as silent as the stars above them. We 
paused a moment. It was so quiet that silence itself 
seemed audible. Twice we heard a faint, muttering sound, 
which we traced to soldiers on guard, leaning against 
the wall of a house, half asleep. We saw no lighted win- 
dow or lattice. Darkness, " Egyptian darkness," reigned 
everywhere. It was a relief to get out of our uncertain 
gropings. While looking out into the dark, thick night 
of Egypt, I had always to think of that darkness that 
could "be felt," which once enshrouded this region. 
Ex. 10 : 21. "Night lustre gives to stars." What a charm- 
ing canopy overarches the night ! Our own familiar stars 
paid us their nightly visits. The Dipper and the north 
star looked large and beautifully bright. But their light 



40 



FILTHY STEEETS. 



had no communion with our darkness, — it only made it 
darker. 

We took a stroll through the by-streets one afternoon, 
which are excessively desolate and filthy. The houses, 
mostly of unburnt brick, look like mud heaps, so low that 
the grown inmates must stoop through the doors, and 
often cannot stand erect within. Without floors, they 
sleep and eat on the bare, dusty ground, alive with all 
manner of creeping things. Lean, hungry, boisterous 
dogs everywhere annoyed us, ready to eat any thing, 
living or dead, that happened to fall in their way. We 
kept them off our persons by an occasional volley of 
stones, and so roved through interminable, narrow streets, 
and vegetable bazaars, reeking with filth; peeped into 
mosques, and watched the devout Moslem at his evening 
prayers. As usual in such cases, we were lost. It was 
nearly sunset, and our ignorance of the language and the 
city made our return to known quarters rather a serious 
problem. Finally, we turned up in the country, about a 
mile from our hotel. 

The better classes have more commodious dwellings. 
Many of the houses are two and three stories high. 
Each story projects over the one below it, until the roofs 
almost meet. The fronts look bald and gloomy. Some 
have lattice windows on the second floor — holes nailed 
up with cross-laths. Often you can see the caged women 
of the harem peeping through the lattice on the passers 
below. The different districts of the city are separated 
by gates at the end of their streets. These are closed 
after night, and watched by long-bearded old men, who will 
open their gates for a small coin. Low, narrow door- 
ways lead into streets, little wider than themselves, 
where no conveyance above a donkey can pass. In some 



GRAND MOSQUE OF CAIRO. 



41 



streets persons on horseback find it difficult to pass each 
other. 

Tbe famous citadel of Cairo is on an adjoining 
hill, overlooking the city. Here is the so-called well 
of Joseph, said to be 275 feet deep. A broad winding 
staircase is cut through the solid rock around the shaft. 
Half-way down, two oxen draw water by a wheel and 
buckets from the bottom, into a cistern dug here. 
From here again it is raised to the top by another 
wheel. 

The grand mosque near the citadel is by far the most 
splendid of all the numerous mosques in Cairo. We 
were asked to leave our shoes at the entrance of the 
court, and thrust our feet into slippers. A large dome 
rises out of a circle of smaller ones all lined with gilded 
mosaic. The walls and pilasters are coated with polished 
alabaster. The whole looks more like one of those gor- 
geous fairy-castles in Eastern tales, than a real, actual 
building. The floor and walls are all bare, save a few 
mats at one end, on which devout Moslems were engaged 
in evening prayers. It appears like a gutted Cathedral ; 
without an altar, it lacks sacrificial furniture, symbolical 
of that shedding of blood without which " there is no 
remission/' From the brow of this hill, the whole city 
with its three hundred mosques and minarets spread out 
to our view. On three sides the bleak desert presses 
up to its walls, the fourth is green and joyous, with vast 
meadows and groves. 

All mosques (Mohammedan temples) are uniformly 
arranged in a very simple style. First you enter a 
square court or yard, with a well or fountain in the 
centre. A cupola rises over it on four columns. Here 
all perform their ablutions before they engage in wor- 
4* 



42 



MOHAMMEDAN DEVOTIONS. 



ship, according to the instruction of the Koran. " 0, true 
believers, when ye prepare yourselves to pray, wash your 
faces and your hands unto the elbows ; and rub your heads 
and your feet unto the ankles." In a corner of the mosque, 
towards Mecca, a number of columns form an arcade. 
Here there is a niche in the wall, towards which all the 
faithful turn their faces, just as the Jews prayed with 
their faces toward Jerusalem. Daniel 6 : 10. Near this 
is the pulpit for the preacher, and aside of it a reading 
stand, for the reading of the Koran and prayer. As 
perhaps not one in twenty can read, or I might say not 
one in fifty, the Koran is read almost every day in some 
mosques. The walls abound with numerous inscriptions 
from the Koran, inscribed in various colors. Parts of 
the floor are covered with straw mats, on which the wor- 
shippers perform their devotions. These require a va- 
riety of postures, standing, kneeling, prostration, touch- 
ing the floor or ground with the forehead, smiting the 
breast, and bending the body forward at right angles with 
the ground. They never pray on the bare ground or 
floor, and never with their shoes or sandals on. When not 
in the mosque, they always spread their coarse outer 
garments on the ground. The minarets are tall columns 
at the entrance of the mosque, built with alternate layers 
of red and white stone. Near the top is a railing around 
the outside, from which the muezzin, or herald, calls to 
prayers, who performs the same office as the bell in the 
Christian church. Blind persons are mostly chosen for 
this office. The gentler sex in the East seldom get be- 
yond the walls of their own house or harem. Here they 
have everything their own way, with any number of 
eunuchs to do their bidding. But woe betide the man 
that steals a peep into their mysterious cage, either from 



THE CALL TO PRAYER. 



43 



heaven above or from the earth beneath. They spend 
much of their time on housetops, and in the open, uncov- 
ered court within their houses. The minarets command 
a view into all the back yards of Cairo ; hence the blind 
muezzin, whose sightless sockets can never profane, the 
domestic domain of woman. 

The Mohammedan day begins at sunset, which is their 
first hour of prayer. The second is about two hours 
later ; the third is at dawn ; the fourth at noon, the most 
important, at which the Sultan attends the mosque 
at Constantinople ; the fifth is at 3 p. M. Five times 
a day the muezzin mounts the minaret and calls to 
prayer. In the morning he cries : " God is great ! I 
show you that there is no god but God ! I show you 
that Mohammed is the prophet of God ! Come to 
prayers ! Come to your refuge ! Prayer is better than 
sleep ! God is great!" Then you can see many wend- 
ing their way to the mosque. Others spread their toga 
on the housetop, others in the field or by the way. No 
matter what they are doing or where they are, when the 
hour of prayer arrives the faithful will pray. On the 
crowded steamers of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, 
they are as regularly devout as their brethren at Cairo 
or Damascus. I was lying snugly in our tent at Akaba, 
when a muttering noise woke me at break of day. I 
raised the curtain, and saw a Turk bowing and kneeling 
on his toga, amid a cluster of palms. On Mount Zion I 
was in a banking-room, right at the edge of Hezekiah's 
pool, when the herald cried u to prayers" from a neigh- 
boring minaret. The banker, in the presence of the 
bystanders, spread his coat on the counter and performed 
his devotions. One night we encamped on the banks of 
a brook in Galilee, in sight of the waters of Merom. 



44 



THE DERVISHES. 



The sheikh of a neighboring village stopped at sunset 
near our tent, on his homeward way, stuck his spear in 
the ground, dismounted, performed his ablutions at the 
running brook, then spread his toga on the bank, and 
worshipped his Maker. I cannot vouch for the sincerity 
of their motives, but their fearless, unswerving fidelity 
to their religion, which makes everything bend and suc- 
cumb to its claims, extorted from me a respect which I 
felt ill prepared to award. 

The dervishes are an order of Moslem monks, famous 
for their rigid austerities and frantic zeal. Their prin- 
cipal festival lasts nine days, and closes with a cruel 
ceremony called doseh, the trampling. The sheikh of 
the Saadieh dervishes rides to the chief sheikh of all the 
dervishes in Egypt, El Bekree. On the way thither, a 
great number of these so-called holy people, and others 
who aspire to equal sanctity, form a solid pavement, with 
their bodies stretched flat on the ground, and their faces 
downward, alternately with their feet and heads together. 
The sheikh then rides over this living carpet of human 
bodies, his horse being led by a servant on each side. 
Each body, if possible, receives two treads. The larger 
number spring up again unhurt. The few that are seri- 
ously or mortally wounded, must bear, besides this ill- 
fortune, the disgrace of having neglected to say the 
proper prayers the day before, misunderstood them, or 
not having said the charm formularies, which they think 
are alone able to protect them. 

Desirous of witnessing their so-called devotions, we 
repaired to a small rude mosque on Friday afternoon. 
We entered a small court-yard, with stone benches aiong 
the sides and in the centre. The latter were shaded by 
a tree, under whose branches the old men were seated. 



RESPECT TO AGE. 



45 



Whenever a grey-bearded veteran entered they all rose 
to their feet. Some reverently kissed his hand, the 
older embraced him, then offered him a seat and a pipe 
under the tree. " Thou shalt rise before the hoary head, 
and honor the face of the old man." Lev. 19 : 32. The 
East still retains its ancient reverence and respect for age. 
With us, alas ! *it is fast falling into disuse. It seems to 
diminish as we go westward ; Europe has less than the 
East, but we have least of all. 

But to our dervishes. Coffee was handed to all, in 
puny cups ; the aged had the additional luxury of a 
narghile (pipe). The practice of hospitality, in connec- 
tion with religion, made up for its lack of flavor. Black, 
bitter, unsettled, still under the circumstances it was per- 
fectly delicious. While sipping at my unsavory share, I 
filled up the pauses by viewing my fellow-guests. The 
old men were striking specimens of patriarchal physiog- 
nomies. Thoughtful and silent, they sipped and puffed. 
The younger had a vacant look about them. Some had 
rimless high-crowned hats on, shaped like a piece of 
stove pipe. The leading dervishes had unshorn hair, 
like the Nazarites, several feet long. The Nazarites 
never shaved so long as their vows were upon them. 
"All the days of the vow of his separation there shall 
no razor come upon his beard." Num. 6 : 5. Samson 
was to be a Nazarite from his birth. "No razor shall 
come on his beard." Judges 13 : 5. So Paul had his 
head unshorn for a season; "for he had a vow." Acts 
18 : 18. But the head, as can be seen on the monu- 
ments, was shaved by the Egyptians. Joseph " shaved 
himself" before he came in unto Pharaoh. Gen. 41 : 14. 

After musing mutely over our cups awhile, the faithful 
led the way into the small mosque. The walls were 



46 WORSHIP OF THE DERVISHES. 

hung with instruments to inflict self-torture. "We sat by 
the wall on the pavement. At the opposite end the old 
sheikh of the Dervishes took his place, and soon some 
twenty or thirty performers gathered round him in a 
circle. He led off like a singing master, keeping time 
by swinging his body, which motion all the rest followed. 
With a low, deep groan, they grunted "La illah illalah" 
(there is no God but God). Their singing and grunts 
became more rapid and violent, until the whole circle 
w T aved to and fro, and their united grunts formed a dead 
inhuman noise, which I have no language to describe. 
The sheikh made a sign, and the raving suddenly stopped 
as if by an enchanter's wand. While the frantic zealots 
panted for breath, several commenced a noise on tambo- 
rines and pipes, following their music with a half-dancing 
motion. Meanwhile, a singer screeched a sacred song 
through his nostrils, making a face full of agony, as if 
in travail with music. Soon the circle was formed again. 
With a drawling groan, they slung their bodies back and 
forward, the face almost touching the knees, then bend- 
ing the head back on the spine. Some shook hands, 
others threw their garments aside, till nothing was left 
but a light sash around the waist. They became louder 
and faster, still with measured quickness, groaning, 6t Il- 
lah," "ha hu." One soul seemed to move the whole 
circle. The sweat gushed out of every pore ; their long 
dishevelled hair flew like loose sails in a storm, burying 
their faces ; the scene grew wilder, until some commenced 
to reel and sink to the floor. It was like a gathering of 
demoniacs. — The old man waved his wand, the scene 
suddenly became like the sea after a storm ; the waves 
continued after the storm had ceased. He could stop 
the wheels, but the momentum would carry the body on 



THE PASHA'S GARDENS. 



47 



in its motion. They panted and gasped for breath ; 
their mouths frothed, and their eyes stared fearfully. One 
beat his breast with clenched fists : another yelled and 
whooped ; another clashed his forehead against the wall, 
and rebounded senseless to the floor. He left a mark 
on the wall, but none on his head. Another one threw 
himself on him till his raving was over. A feeling of 
horror crept over me; the whole ceremony was such 
a frightful caricature of worship, that it seemed more 
like the worship of the Devil than of Gocl. There were 
no females present, save a few forbidden spectators, who 
stood on an adjoining housetop, and stole a view through 
a broken window near the roof of the mosque. These 
dervishes are mostly supported by the wealthy, who are 
great admirers of their frantic fanaticism. 

Feb. 2M. This afternoon, we rode to Shoobra, four 
miles from Cairo, to see the Pasha's gardens. The way 
led through a continuous arbor of sycamore and acacia 
trees. We met large flocks of donkeys bearing skins of 
water, and camels laden with grass and wood. At the 
entrance of the gardens we were accosted by several 
self-appointed servants, ready to do our bidding. We 
were given to understand that visitors were forbidden to 
touch or taste any fruit. But they soon brought their 
unsolicited store of luscious fruit in the hope of getting 
a few piastres. Peach and apricot trees were in full 
bloom. Citrons, lemons, and blood-oranges were ripe, 
of which we got a bountiful share. The air was freighted 
with sweet odors ; the birds sang to each other from 
every tree-top ; and while a few heavy rain-drops fell on 
the dust, like drops of life, we reclined beneath a canopy 
on soft divans around the omnipresent fountain. 

Heliopolis is the On of the Bible, where Joseph got 



48 RUINS OF HELIOPOLIS. 

his wife. Gen. 41 : 45. Our way thither led us about 
an hour and a half in a north-eastern direction, along 
the edge of the desert. This ancient metropolis of the 
Egyptian priesthood, consists at present of a series of 
mounds — heaps of earth — covered debris and ruins. 
Some of them are ancient walls, resembling great ram- 
parts of earth; others perform the office of thriving 
gardens. Grass, grain, and trees, bending with fruit, 
grow in almost wild luxuriance over the tombs, temples, 
walls, and buried mysteries of Egypt's religion. To 
this city, doubtless, the prophet refers when speaking of 
the latter-day, spiritual glory of Egypt : " In that day 
shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language 
of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts ; On shall 
be called the city of destruction (in the margin, the city 
of the Sun, or Heliopolis)." Here on the edge of Egypt 
and the desert, was the centre of Egypt's religious wor- 
ship and sacrifices. And so it shall be again. " In that 
day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of 
the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to 
the Lord.* 1 Isaiah 19 : 18-19. 

In a garden near the city is an ancient sycamore, 
with two thick limbs and a very large gnarled trunk. 
Tradition says Mary and Joseph, with the infant Jesus, 
rested under this tree on their flight to Egypt. As they 
tarried at least two years in Egypt, and as, according to 
Josephus, there was a city of Egyptian Jews near Helio- 
polis, with a Jewish temple, it is not impossible that the 
holy family visited this city ; but that they rested under 
this very tree is not so easily determined. I felt plea- 
sure, however, in thinking that my eyes, for the first 
time, may have rested on a landscape which our Lord 
and the Virgin beheld. Josephus says, Pharaoh gave 



TEMPLE OF THE SUN. 



49 



Jacob " leave to live with his children in Heliopolis ; for 
in that city the King's shepherds had their pasturage." 

In the gardens covering the city are two relics of the 
great Temple of the Sun, the highpriest of which was 
"Potiphar, priest of On," the father-in-law of Joseph. 
Gen. 41 : 50. Afterwards, the teacher of Moses was its 
highpriest. One of these relics is a pool, with willows 
and rank herbage around its borders. The other is a 
solitary obelisk, rising out of a garden of shrubbery. 
It was erected by King Sesurtesen I., 2300 years before 
Christ. It is, by far, the most ancient of all known 
obelisks. This was the first one I saw on the spot where 
it was originally erected. A vast profusion of flowers in 
these gardens attracted swarms of busy bees, which 
have piled their stores over the hieroglyphics inscribed 
on it, until they have become buried like the neighbor- 
ing palaces and temple. 

This city, in its glory, " prided itself in possessing, 
next to Thebes, the most learned body of priests." 
Learning, among the ancient Egyptians, was confined to 
the caste of the priesthood. Even kings had to become 
priests, before they could be initiated into the mysteries 
of their wisdom and learning. Mahommedan tradition 
says that Moses had been a pagan priest before he fled 
from Egypt. As he had become the adopted son of the 
king's daughter, this tradition may be true. To have been 
a priest in the Egyptian religion, is not derogatory to the 
character of Moses. It formed part of his schooling 
for the solemn duties of the Jewish lawgiver. Here he 
laid the foundation of his learning, for " Moses was 
learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Acts 7 : 
22. One almost feels like lifting his hat before this 
stately granite column, which stands firm in its ancient 
5 . d 



50 



OBELISK OF EELIOPOLIS. 



place, in spite of museums and emperors, who have car- 
ried nearly all its fellows to Europe, still preaching of 
the long, long past. I had seen three of its companions 
in Rome, taken from here. It alone is left, " almost the 
only landmark of the great seat of Egyptian wisdom." 
It is the oldest obelisk in existence, the father of all the 
rest. It was raised a century before Joseph was brought 
to Egypt by slave merchants ; it looked down on his 
marriage with Asenath ; Moses looked at its inscriptions ; 
Herodotus speaks of it ; " and Plato sat under its 
shadow." 

The borders of the desert are gradually rescued from 
their barrenness by means of wells. The waters of the 
Nile soak under the surface where its overflowings do 
not extend. By digging wells fifteen or twenty feet 
deep, they get access to its waters, the great fertilizer 
of Egypt. The power of Nile water over the desert is 
almost incredible. Its touch in a very short time evokes 
vegetable life from the burning sand, and covers it with 
luxuriant verdure ; it converts the desert into a fruitful 
field, like "the garden of the Lord." The "fountain 
opened in the house of David," sends forth a stream like 
the life-bearing Nile. Wherever its waters extend, " the 
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; 
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." 
Isaiah 35 : 1. 

Near our hotel was one of the Pasha's palaces, where 
his daughter furnished a series of festivities during our 
sojourn in Cairo. The street before the palace was 
spanned with a large canvass, under which hung chande- 
liers, and lamps were pendent from ropes stretched along 
the side of it. Musicians were there in the street, all day 
long, in grey grotesque garments, with coins hung around 



THE PASHA'S HAREM. 



51 



the breast, and long jewelled tassels dangling around 
their loins. A screeching fiddle, untuned and unstrung, 
small drums and single drum heads, and tamborines and 
pipes, sounding like willow pipes ; all fiddled, piped, 
thumped, and drummed, each extemporaneously on his 
own hook, without regard to time or tune ; meanwhile 
themselves dancing to their excruciating discords. These 
wild fandangoes were kept up for several days, to the 
amusement of thousands of spectators. One afternoon 
the Pasha's carriages hauled wemen to the palace. An 
army of eunuchs received the fair ones at the door. Their 
features were hid beneath a profusion of silk, so that no 
one could see whether they were joyful or sad. To an 
uninterested spectator the whole affair seemed sullen and 
dreary. These muffled, silent women keep one thinking all 
the while of apparitions. As they alighted they were 
softly hurried away from the vulgar gaze of the rabble 
by the mysterious looking eunuchs. 

Of course the sterner sex were entirely excluded. A 
female friend was present, who afterwards reported the 
proceedings to me. Some of the younger women pos- 
sessed the charms of natural beauty ; others seemed 
withering with the blight of jealousy, and the half-sup- 
pressed torture of a forced love ; some were silent and 
sad with untold repressed grief. The prettiest were 
slaves, whom their masters had bought for wives. Brace- 
lets and coronets, studded with glittering pearls and 
costly diamonds, reflected the brilliant light of splendid 
chandeliers in many colors. They seemed totally igno- 
rant of everything beyond their toilette. Some fa- 
miliarly plucked my friend's dress ; asked how Frank 
ladies were treated by their husbands, and how they got 
along with only one. 



52 



HOTELS IN EGYPT. 



The few so-called hotels in Egypt are only for travel- . 
lers, — Europeans and Americans. Eastern travellers 
usually herd together in khans or "inns" for their night 
quarters, where man and beast share a common bed. 
The accommodations at Shepherd's Hotel were quite 
tolerable for Egypt, but egregiously dear. The British 
India travellers passing through here twice a week, and 
an unusual number of tourists on hand this spring, gave 
our rotund host more than his usual share of custom. 
There was enough on his table, but the difficulty was to 
get at it. The few servants he had were indolent, slow, 
and stupid, so that one had to be wide awake, and withal 
somewhat rude, to get his due share. 

At the urgent recommendation of a friend, we removed 
our quarters to Old Cairo, four miles from the city. Our 
new host was an obliging, clever fellow, Antonio — some- 
body, — who gave us the best he had. We were here on 
the banks of the Nile, where we heard the croaking of 
frogs, such as infested the "houses," "ovens," and 
" kneading-troughs " of Pharaoh's subjects. Screens 
were stretched over our couches to keep out musquitoes, 
but they buzzed and bored their way through the gauze, 
and pitched into their victims with half-famished avidity. 
Fleas and the third plague of Egypt came to their aid. 
Their combined attacks banishing repose from our pil- 
lows, we filled up the sleepless intervals of impatient 
resistance with comments on this busy progeny of the 
plagues. Finally our illustrative experiments proving 
more instructive than agreeable, we kissed and waved 
the hand to our obliging friend Antonio, and beat a hasty 
retreat on our donkeys to Shepherd's, leaving a spring 
hat and a pair of pinching Neapolitan boots as trophies 
for our pestering persecutors. Such a universe of ver- 



ANNOYING VERMIN. 



58 



min as Egypt contains, few countries can furnish. Men 
and animals, dogs, donkeys, and the dust in the street, 
are alive "with them. It is amusing to see how patiently 
the filthier classes scrape and scratch them from their 
persons. The donkey boy, running after his employer, 
suddenly stops in the way to rid himself of the pain ; 
sometimes I caught him sitting alone and searching his 
scanty garments for his assailants. Old and young sit 
in the hot sun, on the dust before their doors, hunting 
vermin. It may seem a singular destiny to spend much 
time seriously in such pursuits, but the poor Egyptian 
would gain a glorious end if he could exterminate his 
incessant tormentors. 

Boarding at hotels, the tourist does not get many 
dishes peculiarly Egyptian. Long shall I remember one 
called pilau, composed of mutton, rice, and burning 
quantities of cayenne pepper. It had a very relishable 
appearance, and as our dinner hour was after sunset, the 
appetite had time to sharpen for a spoon or two of this 
pepper sauce. 



5* 



54 



CROSSING THE NILE. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Feb. 24. — This morning at 8, we started for Mem- 
phis and the Pyramids of Sakharah. A charming morning 
it was, as all mornings are here. When the ferrymen, 
at the lower end of Old Cairo, saw us approaching, they 
commenced the usual deafening clamor. Our interpre- 
ter tried to hire a boat, and vainly strove to be heard 
at the top of his voice. Finally, he spoke with the aid 
of a cane, and dealt one a severe blow, which sent him 
into a frothing rage. He followed us to the other side, 
threatened vengeance, jumped and tilted about like a 
man possessed, and heaped on us many of the ugly epi- 
thets which the Moslem vocabulary has for " infidels." 

The boats were large clumsy affairs for ferry-boats, 
with lateen sails hung from a lofty pole. I was not with- 
out misgivings as I mounted the shoulders of a stout 
Arab, who carried me through the Nile on to his craft. The 
donkeys were taken by the hind-legs, and steered through 
the water and over the side of the boat, after the manner 
of a wheelbarrow. I felt a pleasant relief when our bark 
floated away from the riotous mob. We disembarked at 
Ghizeh on the opposite shore. After threading along 
through a devious alley about four feet wide, we came 
into a square, in the centre of the village, where there 
was a grain market. Large heaps of wheat and barley 



EGYPTIAN DOGS 



55 



were lying about on the bare ground, — doubtless the 
same kind of wheat as that which the brethren of Joseph 
came to buy. Still, many "go down to buy grain in 
Egypt." 

We rode over causeways — roads raised on embank- 
ments, to evade the inundations of the Nile. In every 
village we were hailed by the bowlings of a herd of half- 
starved dogs, lean as the kine in Pharaoh's dream, and 
with as capacious appetites. Every city and village 
abounds with this canine nuisance. They seem to live 
on the filth and offal of the streets. After commencing 
our tent-life, we had to watch them like Bedouin robbers. 
They would steal into the cook's tent, and our faithful 
Mahommed flung many a club and stone at them to keep 
their paw out of the pan. After night they prowled 
around our tents with thievish looks, and an occasional 
howl. David says his enemies "return at evening: 
they make a noise like a dog and go round about the 
city." Psalm 59 : 6. Their hair all seemed to stand on 
end, — scabby, canine wolves, hated and kicked by every- 
body. The streets are filled with beatings and bowlings 
brought on by their thefts. No wonder that the ancients, 
like the moderns, shunned them as a mean, filthy beast. 
"When a man was mean and contemptible, he was com- 
pared to a dog. "Is thy servant a dog," replied Hazael 
to Elisha's prophecy of -his cruelty. 2 Kings 8 : 13. 
Abishai said to David, " Why should this dead dog curse 
my Lord the King ? " 2 Sam. 16 : 9. 

The houses were all built of unburnt brick, with little 
holes for doors, and were innocent of floor and furniture. 
The roofs consisted of branches and rubbish covered with 
mud. Some of their occupants were stretched before 
their doors, roasting in the sun. Groups of dirty men 



56 



BRICK MAKING IN EGYPT. 



and women, and children almost naked, sat along their 
mud-like walls, as if existence were a burden to them. 
The scarcity of rain produces great quantities of dust. 
In streets and houses it abounds, and the feathery tops 
of palm trees are grey with it. So it was when God 
commanded Aaron, saying, " Stretch out thy rod, and 
smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice 
throughout all the land of Egypt." Exodus 8 : 16. When 
the land was cursed with the drought it was said, " The 
Lord shall make the rain of the land powder and dust." 
Deut. 28 : 24. At several villages they were making 
brick, mixing Nile mud with short " straw," and drying 
them in the sun, just as the Jews did in the days of 
Moses. The largest houses are built of these unburnt 
brick. This was near Memphis, the city of the Pharaohs, 
where the task-masters were told, " Ye shall no more 
give the people straw to make brick," so they had to 
" gather straw for themselves." Ex. 5:7. But why use 
straw ? For the same reason that plasterers use hair in _ 
the plaster, to cause the clay to cohere. Lepsius says : 
" The black brick made of Nile mud, and dried in the 
sun, apparently the most perishable material, have not 
unfrequently been preserved in the open air for thou- 
sands of years, in the form in which they were built up, 
and with their coating of plaster." He mentions the 
ruins of a brick-built temple at Thebes, over 3000 years 
old, and in a tolerable state of preservation. In the north- 
ern part of Egypt, where the atmosphere is more damp 
and the weather more changeable, they would not last 
so long. 

Our road led us through a region supposed to have 
been partly inhabited and worked by Hebrews. The 
whole Nile plain, viewed at a distance, was like one con- 



CATACOMBS OF THE DESERT. 57 

tinuous meadow. The wheat was just coming into heads. 
Barley was nearly in bloom. Herds of cattle were out 
grazing in the fenceless fields. As we approached them, 
the black head of the keeper, with a white turban, rose 
above the grass. Little boys kept sheep and goats. 
While a large camel was lying down, two kids were skip- 
ping about on his hump. After a few hours we reached 
the edge of the Lybian desert. Deep sand, like vast 
snow-drifts, everywhere covers the earth, through which 
our little animals waded with much labor. All vegeta- 
tion suddenly ceased. The waves of the desert limit the 
shores of this sea of verdure. Their yearly encroach- 
ments, rolled out by desert winds, are driven back by 
the inundations of the Nile, whose waters fertilize the 
sand within their reach. But for this, and the desert 
would soon leave but a narrow strip of fertile land along 
the Nile. 

We descended into several mummy-pits, the catacombs 
of the desert. One contained large sarcophagi, of 
smoothly polished granite. Others were of black marble, 
with numerous hieroglyphics. Some of these contain 
the dust of ancient greatness, others of the Bull Apis, 
an object of worship among the old Egyptians. Others 
had chambers strewn with mummies, in which the dead 
of 3000 and 4000 years were wrapped up and embalmed, 
with their features still retained, though shrivelled like a 
crisp. The sand was dry as dust as far as we descended, 
and the air close and hot as an oven. These under- 
ground explorations cost one an immense deal of sweat. 
We stooped our way through the dark winding streets 
of the dead of old, with the aid of dim tapers, and 
walked over places literally strewn with dead men's 
bones ; perhaps we kicked- about the skulls of ancient 



58 



INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBS. 



" taskmasters," or of the proud oppressors of other days. 
One pit was filled with piles of ibis mummies, the white 
sacred bird of Egypt, preserved in jars. Some that 
were broken, still contained their bones, perfectly pre- 
served. 

Were it not for these tombs of the old Egyptians, little 
of their history would now be known. Every great man 
or king had his corpse put into a large sarcophagus of 
red or black granite or marble, smoothly polished, — a 
pile eight or ten feet high, and the same in length. If 
the man had large harvests, sheaves and reapers are 
carved on his tomb ; if many flocks, sheep, cattle, or 
camels are engraved on the stone. And so with regard 
to all the details of his possessions and history. Thus 
we learn more about Old Egypt from tombs than books. 
Modern antiquarians have deciphered many of the hiero- 
glyphics on tombs and Pyramids, and many more remain 
to be interpreted. What a singular providence to pre- 
serve the annals of a nation which was the cradle of 
Science for more than 4000 years — not on paper or 
parchment, which would long since have perished, but 
on the tombs and sepulchral monuments of its dead ! 
In the graveyards of their giants. we read their history. 

After visiting several of the larger Pyramids of Sak- 
harah, we hurried into the shade of the largest one, and 
resorted to our wallets for a noonday meal. The winter 
sun is not uncomfortably hot here, so long as one keeps 
near the Nile ; but once out on these heaps of rolling 
sand for an hour, and he is ready to roast on the earth 
or under it. The sun pours his heat from above, waves 
of hot twittering air rush up from the seething sand, 
while he wades and puffs over it with immense labor. 

On our return we took a different route. Nearly all 



THE PALM TEEE. 



59 



the mud-villages were embowered among palm groves, 
whose graceful, lofty tops contrasted strangely with the 
grovelling, crouching dwellers in the towns. Finally, 
we reached the small Arab village of Metrahenny, the 
few miserable human dwellings which mark the site of 
Memphis, the Noph and No of the Bible, consisting of a 
few huts scattered among a forest of palms. These 
trees are of great value and use in this part of the 
world. Their feathery tops shield against the burning 
sun ; their long trunks are used for building purposes ; 
their leaves for making baskets ; their fruit is used for 
food ; and their sap for making arrak (date brandy) ; 
their undressed logs serve the fishermen of the Nile and 
Red Sea as boats ; and their branches are used as en- 
signs of triumph. Their wood was used for the dwel- 
lings of the living, and to board up the embalmed corpses 
of the dead. The tents at the feast of tabernacles 
were covered with palm branches (Lev. 23) ; and with 
"branches of palm trees," the people of Jerusalem wel- 
comed the King of Israel at his triumphal approach to 
his city. And the innumerable multitude which John 
saw before the throne and the Lamb, clothed with white 
robes, had palms in their hands. Rev. 7 : 9. No tree is 
so graceful and erect. " Thy stature is like to a palm 
tree." Song of Sol. 7 : 7. The idols of the Jews were 
"'upright as the palm tree." Jer. 10 : 5. Its rough-rinded 
trunk lifts its vigorous, plumy top high above earth, and 
bears fruit nearest heaven. " The righteous shall flourish 
like the palm-tree." Psalm 92 : 12. 

Looking over the surrounding plain, we saw mounds 
and vast piles of ruins, on which beautiful palm groves 
and wheat-fields were waving in the breeze. A mighty 
city once this Memphis was, the abode of royalty and 



60 



SCRIPTURE ALLUSIONS TO MEMPHIS. 



cruelty, great and terrible. Here the Pharaohs lived, 
and here they died ; the Pharaoh that promoted Joseph, 
and the Pharaoh that "knew not Joseph." How terri- 
bly true I felt the prophecy of Jeremiah to be, with my 
eyes resting on the depopulated city, its unseen ruins 
nourishing palm trees, wheat fields, and herds of cattle ! 
" thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to 
go into captivity ; for Nopli shall be waste and desolate, 
without an inhabitant." Jer. 46 : 19-26. In this city 
they fed the ox Apis, as their god, to whose destruction 
Ezekiel alludes. " Thus saith the Lord God; I will also 
destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease 
out of Nopli, and there shall be no more a prince of the 
land of Egypt," Ezek. 30 : 13. 

In sight of the Nile, whose swellings flowed around 
and perhaps through it, the description of Nahu.ru would 
suit its geography as well now as then. "Art thou 
better than populous No, that was situated among the 
rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart 
was the sea, and her wall was from the sea ? Ethiopia and 
Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite." Nahum 3 : 
8-9. But one relic remains visible. In a ditch, containing 
water left by the annual swelling of the river, lay a col- 
lossal statue, with the back upward, its pretty face with 
distinct features partly visible. The ditch or pond is 
formed by high mounds of ruins. Here it has lain for 
many centuries ; perhaps it is the same one which Herod- 
otus describes as having stood in front of the great 
gateway. I looked over the verdant, uneven plain, 
where slept Joseph's prison and his palace. Hither he 
was brought by the " Midianite merchantmen," and 
here he interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Hither came his 
brethren twice, and then his old father with his families. 



E E M A I N S OF ANCIENT MEMPHIS. 



61 



Here partly Moses was reared, and here lie plead for 
his oppressed brethren. 

To get a faint view of the greatness of ancient Mem- 
phis, one need but look westward from here, where her 
vast necropolis stretches along the edge of the Lybian 
desert for many miles. Scores of pyramids, great and 
small, rose within our view, each a separate sepulchre of 
some prince or king — a vast city of the dead, running 
over with sand, its streets running through shelves of 
mummy-swathings ; long lines of polished tombs, the 
palaces of the dead ; vast galleries of shrivelled, crispy 
corpses, all being but the burying-ground of Memphis. 
The king that sat on his throne, the master and the 
slave, the god and his worshipper, the proud and the 
poor, all sleep in the same desert ; kings, with their 
heads way up in the pyramids, subjects down below the 
sand. What a scene, could they all come back to the 
deserted city, and for a moment fill it with its palaces 
and its people ! In other parts of the world, many 
might have lived, died, and decayed a hundred times 
since they were buried. 

The art of embalming partly helped to preserve these 
dead so long. But the main preserver is, doubtless, the 
dryness of the air and earth. The absence of all moist- 
ure would retard decomposition in any country. The 
burying-ground of Memphis was famous in ancient times, 
either for its mode of interring the dead, or for some 
other peculiarity, perhaps its boundless capacity for re- 
ceiving them. What multitudes of Hebrews sleep in 
this sandy cemetery of Memphis ! Many were driven 
hither in the days of their last kings. Here they died 
and were buried. " Egypt shall gather them up, Mem- 
phis shall bury them." Hosea 9 : 6. This, at least, 
6 



62 



ISLE OF R OD AH. 



would seem to point it out as the most celebrated bury- 
ing-ground in Egypt. I never felt such an overpower- 
ing illustration of fulfilled prophecy and executed Divine 
displeasure, as when I stood amid the palm trees of 
Memphis. Thriving groves and grain fields are spread 
over the site of Egypt's pride and shame. A faint 
breeze sighed a sad requiem over the dead city, but not 
a sound was heard besides it. Even the filthy little vil- 
lage was unusually silent. The inhabitants have moved 
to another city. "Noph shall be waste and desolate 
without an inhabitant." Jer. 46 : 19. At such a place, 
the fool only can deny the Divine inspiration of prophecy. 

Our visit to the Pyramids of Ghizeh was equally inte- 
resting. They are about ten miles northwest of Cairo in 
a straight line, but over the crooked, winding causeways 
the distance is fifteen. Again the boatmen shrieked and 
fisted in fierce confusion, seemingly ready to tear us to 
pieces. The donkeys were tumbled in like bales of mer- 
chandise. On our way we stopped at the isle of Rodah, 
to see the famous Nilometer. Tradition says that the 
daughter of Pharaoh found Moses, floating in his little 
ark, on the edge of this island. There is no reason why 
this may not have been true, for the island seems to have 
been the abode of royalty at a tolerably remote period ; 
and a little bark put on the river higher up, where Mem- 
phis and many of the Hebrew slaves then were, would 
be more likely to touch on its banks in the middle of the 
river than at either shore.- The Pharaohs having had a 
palace here, where they spent part of their time, it would 
seem natural that the daughter should notice the little 
ark floating down the river. There is a fine palace here 
now, and one of the former pashas laid off the island 
into gardens. The Nilometer is a graduated column, 



NEAR VIEW OF THE PYRAMIDS. 



63 



formerly used to measure the rising of the Nile, standing 
erect in a building on the edge of Rodah. It is said to 
be nearly a thousand years old. Our way led us several 
hours across the fertile plains ; the air was sweet and 
balmy, the soft breeze was freighted with pleasant odors, 
and gracefully waved the tufts of the tall palms ; a re- 
viving spring power seemed to teem out of the earth. As 
we rode slowly along, chatting and happy, one donkey 
after the other brought his rider clumsily to the earth 
■with a tremendous crash. Yery singular how these little 
animals can make one dismount, when so near the ground, 
with such a helpless tumble. 

Strange thoughts one has in approaching these world- 
renowned Pyramids of Egypt for the first time. We 
hear and read so much about them at home, that our 
credulity is tempted to feel disappointed at the actual 
sight of them, marvellously great and grand though they 
be. Riding towards them at a distance, 1 still wondered 
that they looked no larger. Hungry dogs hailed us with 
their howlings, and dozens of Arabs, almost in a state of 
nudity, came scampering after us, running as fast as our 
animals, and offering their services with extended hands. 
On the rising border of the desert, perhaps twenty or thirty 
minutes after leaving the green Nile plain, we approached 
the base of the large Pyramid of Cheops. Here its 
immense proportions swelled far beyond even my extra- 
vagant expectations. Huge broad blocks rose step above 
step into the sky, until they .seemed to rise above the 
reach of mortals. It was a scene of awful, overpower- 
ing grandeur, " the nearest approach to a mountain that 
the art of man has produced." 

By this time the number of straggling Arabs which 
we had picked up along the way had swelled to quite an 



64 



TURBULENT ARABS. 



army. These poor fellows are innocent of laws and 
manners, and do what little they have to do in quite an 
original style. Not one in twenty had a hope of getting 
employment, so they raised a fearful commotion, trying 
to mob their services upon us. Fortunately the sheikh of 
the nearest village came to our rescue, and, for a small 
fee, gave us directions how to manage them. 

There is no use to reason with these Egyptian Arabs ; 
English, French, and Arabic, good and bad, are all thrown 
away on them. Only he who has the rod at command, 
can grapple with them in controversy. The sheikh 
assigned one guide to each of us for a shilling, with 
strict orders to permit no others to follow. After light- 
ing our candles, we entered the Pyramid through a nar- 
row inclined shaft, with a polished marble floor. I 
happened to enter last with my Arab. The sheikh 
repeated his counsel to keep the crowd back. They tried 
to force their way by me ; I argued and scolded in plain 
English, but all to no purpose. Experience had taught 
me that the system of induction was the only philosophy 
they understood. I left them come till they had gorged 
the narrow passage, and then turned on them with a 
tough cane. They had not counted on this. Quick and 
heavy fell the blows on their broad bare backs. Confu- 
sion ensued in their ranks. The floor was slippery, their 
sandals still more so from the hot sand. Running away 
from a pursuing foe, up a slippery hill, is not an easy 
task. Some fell, others fell over them. I pounded on 
the pavement way down, which they mistook for the ear- 
nest thwacks on the backs of the poor hind ones. And 
so they emerged by jerks, like water from the narrow 
neck of an inverted bottle. It may seem strange that a 
man of my cloth should resort to such means ; but, under 



CANE DISCIPLINE. 



65 



certain circumstances, a faithful teacher of good morals 
feels it as much his duty to resort to " the rod for the 
fool's back," as to arguments and persuasions of a milder 
kind. There are certain minds which can only be 
reached and convinced through the senses. Perhaps 
our Egyptian .friends belong to this class. Wherever I 
made use of it, I found that it decidedly improved their 
manners, — at least towards myself. 

Some may fancy that the narrative of such belligerent 
adventures had better remain untold, betraying a discre- 
ditable want of taste and temper. But it must be borne 
in mind that every traveller, whatever his cloth, is, under 
certain circumstances, a man of like passions with others. 
And furthermore, as to travelling through a country of 
such lawless, unmannerly vandals, he must make up his 
mind to be his own police, or he had better remain at 
home. I saw an English lady shamefully annoyed by 
these barbarians in the presence of her husband. The 
slight brandishing of his cane would have brought imme- 
diate relief. This much I can say in defence of my 
course, apart from the moral virtue of the rod for such 
beings. Although the scene and its description may lack 
dignity, its lesson has a moral. These unprincipled 
rowdy propensities of modern Egyptians are important 
strokes of Ezekiel's prophetic pencil, with which he de- 
picted their character 2500 years ago. This base fea- 
ture in Egyptian character, and those who have been 
Egyptianized in this " house of bondage" furnishes 
sad illustrations of fulfilled prophecy. Here you find 
yourself alone amid a score or two of full-grown men, 
with the flesh and blood, faces and forms of men, who 
are solely influenced by motives of fear and dread. They 
insult you, and down comes your rod in quick and pun- 
6* E 



66 



BURIAL-PLACE OP CHEOPS. 



gent blows, beneath which they cringe, crouch, and whine, 
without the least show of resistance. No sooner is the 
rod laid by, than they resume their dogged, impertinent 
annoyances again ; beings morally base and torpid, from 
whose hearts and minds every vestige of true manliness 
has been obliterated, the quintessence of a base, servile 
spirit, just as the prophet has it. " They shall be there 
a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of kingdoms." 
Ezek. 29 : 14, 15. The Egyptians have become so 
used to this kind of training, that they seem to bear it 
as a matter of course. The usual method of punishing 
is to lay the offender on his back, with his feet on a stool 
or log, when the lash is applied to the soles of his feet. 
" If the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, the judge 
shall cause him to lie down to be beaten before his face." 
Deut. 25 : 2. Doubtless the poor Hebrews suffered 
this penalty while in Egypt. It is very severe, often 
leaving the sufferer in a fainting condition, and his lace- 
rated feet unfit to walk for days. The Jewish law 
only allowed forty stripes ; Paul received one less of the 
Jews. 2 Cor. 11 : 24. Seeing these poor Egyptian bond- 
men beaten and bleeding for their sins, one cannot help 
but think of Him who " was wounded for our transgres- 
sions, and bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement 
of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are 
healed." Isaiah 53 : 5. 

After climbing and clambering our way up and down 
a series of slippery passages, we reached a dark cham- 
ber, seventy or eighty feet above the base of the Pyra- 
mid; this contained a large granite sarcophagus, smoothly 
polished. Here Cheops, who had this Pyramid built for 
his sepulchral monument, is supposed to have been 
buried. The air was hot and smothering, and gave a 



ASCEXT OF A PYRAMID. 



67 



singular ringing sound to the human voice. "When we 
came out, the disappointed Arabs -clamorously pressed 
their claims for bucksheesh, but the occasional flourish 
of a club silenced their clamor, and kept them at a 
respectful distance. 

The ascent of the Pyramid is along the outside. The 
blocks of stone recede as you ascend, forming steps from 
three to four feet high. Each took his Arab, and kept 
off the rest as best he could, and so began our ascent. 
There is no use to call it easy, as many have done. If 
there is a more joint-straining, knee-skinning, shudder- 
inspiring stairway on the face of the earth, I have never 
heard of it. Now the guide half drags you over the 
rough-edged stones, then you clamber up the high steps 
on all-fours. And as you look down to the base over the 
immense side, and think what a rough roll you would 
have if your. foot should slip, you feel a twitching thrill 
of the nerves, which is anything but an agreeable sensa- 
tion, just there. Our Arabs took to racing. Mine was 
as fleet as a roe, bounding from step to step with in- 
credible agility. He held a firm grip at my hand, drag- 
ging me upward until I was almost out of breath. I 
scolded, begged, and coaxed him to desist ; but all to no 
purpose. Half-way up the Pyramid is no place for re- 
senting Egyptian rudeness — graver matters to do and 
think about there. The cruel heathen dragged me to the 
top in eight minutes. After we had finished scolding 
the racing Arabs, and gotten over our panting, we feasted 
on the view our position commanded. The top of this 
Pyramid of Cheops is a square platform of thirty-two 
feet on each side. While looking down from this hoary 
eminence of the past, we attended to the wants of the 
outward man ; and just then and there, with the tomb 



(38 



VIEW FROM A PYRAMID. 



of Cheops for our table, we relished our simple fare more 
than he ever did his kingly banquets. For the benefit 
of the more curious reader, who might wonder what a 
person could relish on the Pyramid, I would say that 
cold beef, eggs, bread and butter, s,nd oranges, made up 
our meal. 

We had now reached a stand-pomt not often attained 
by mortals. On the eve of a great battle, Napoleon, 
addressing his army near the Pyramids, said : " War- 
riors ! remember, from these monuments four thousand 
years look down upon you." When Abraham came from 
Mesopotamia, this Pyramid was already many years old, 
which the father of the faithful doubtless viewed with 
amazement. Jacob and Joseph, Moses, and most likely 
the Virgin and Jesus, looked at it with wonder. Here 
it has stood for 5000 years, survived all the generations 
of men that have lived since, survived Egypt's greatness 
and fall. Still it stands firm. The Arabs have a pro- 
verb : " Everything fears time, but time fears the Pyra- 
mids." Viewing the world from such a place, the long 
ages seem like years, and the distance of antiquity is 
brought comparatively near. 

What a scope of objects the view embraces ! West- 
ward stretch out the rolling, trackless sands of the Ly- 
bian Desert. Vast sand-heaps, which the storm rolls 
and swells like the waves of the sea, loom up along the 
horizon. No tree nor plant, man nor beast, nor any 
living thing, is seen. The whole is a most complete pic- 
ture of lifeless desolation. Eastward spreads out the 
fertile plain of the Nile, like one continuous meadow, 
with grazing herds, and numerous mud- villages embowered 
among palm-trees — the mounds and palm-groves of 
Memphis distinctly in view, where lived the man on 



DEATH OF AN ENGLISH OFFICER. 69 

whose tomb we were sitting. The Nile threads its ma- 
jestic march through this living picture, like a mighty 
artist, which makes the whole, darting its life-colors over 
the plain through hundreds of canals. A short distance 
from its opposite bank was Grand Cairo, with its palaces 
and minarets, all shining white and lovely in the dis- 
tance. Beyond, Heliopolis, the land of Goshen, spread 
out in the dim distance — the blest region where Jacob 
and Joseph met. 

Many a haughty house and mighty race has sunk into 
oblivion — kingdoms and thrones have risen and fallen — " 
since this marvellous pile was first reared. Still, the 
'•stranger" from other lands gazes with wonder on its 
stupendous proportions. And so it will continue to be — 
the last monument of a primitive age, which promises to 
survive all other monuments and works of man. 

For a small present, one of our Arabs descended the 
Pyramid, ascended another one nearly as large, about a 
quarter of a mile off, then returned to the top of ours 
again — all in twenty minutes. He bounded over the 
large steps like a cat, and at the end of his task showed 
little fatigue. The blocks are so high, that the only con- 
venient way of descending is to run down without help. 
I found this the easiest and quickest plan, but reached 
the base with stiff and sore limbs, which left me in a 
limping plight for three or four days. 

The ascent of the Pyramids is not without its danger. 
A single misstep would send one rolling to the base. 
Stephens gives an account of an English officer who was 
killed in this way. While " walking around the upper 
layer of stones, he fell, rolled down eight or ten steps, 
and caught. For a moment he turned up his face with 
an expression that his friend spoke of as horrible beyond 



70 USES OF THE PYRAMIDS. 

all description ; when his head sunk, his grasp relaxed, 
and he pitched headlong, rolling over and over to the 
bottom of the Pyramid. Every bone in his body was 
broken. His mangled corpse was sewed up in a sack, 
and carried to Old Cairo, where it was buried." 

There are three large Pyramids here, and many smaller 
ones — forty in all ; each a separate and distinct tomb, 
to encase the dust, proclaim and perpetuate the glory of 
men of old. Lepsius thinks that each king began the 
building of his Pyramid as soon as he ascended the throne. 
He only designed a small one, to ensure himself a com- 
plete tomb (at the end of each year), even were he des- 
tined to be but a few years upon the throne. But with 
the advancing years of his reign, he increased it by suc- 
cessive layers on the outside, till he thought he was near 
the end of his life. If he died during the erection, then 
the external covering was alone completed, and the monu- 
ment of death finally remained proportionate to the dura- 
tion of the life of the king. Now, as by the rings of a 
tree we can calculate its age, so, by the layers and size 
of Pyramids we can count the years of the king's life. 
King Cheops was the longest on the throne ; and so he 
got the largest number of layers, and the tallest Pyra- 
mid. Whole layers of blocks have been torn off from 
the top to the base, to build the palaces of the pashas ; 
and still they remain symmetrical and complete in form. 
The large Pyramid has a perpendicular height of 450 
feet. The platform on which it is built is about 150 feet; 
so that its actual perpendicular height above the plain is 
about 600 feet. The base covers sixteen acres of ground. 
Ancient writers tell us that 100,000 men were constantly 
employed in its building for a period of thirty years. 
" Every three months they were relieved by the same 



LEPSIUS'S INSCRIPTION. 



71 



number. Ten complete years were spent in hewing out 
the stones, either in Arabia or Ethiopia, and in convey- 
ing them to Egypt ; and twenty years more in build- 
ing it." 

At the entrance into the Pyramid is a tablet with 
hieroglyphics, put there by Lepsius and his associates, 
who constituted the celebrated scientific expedition which 
the King of Prussia sent to Egypt in 1842. The inscrip- 
tion reads as follows : " Thus speak the servants of the 
King, whose name is the Sun and Rock of Prussia, Lep- 
sius the scribe, Erbkam the architect, the brothers Wei- 
denbach the painters, Prey the painter, Franke the 
moulder, Bonomi the sculptor, Wild the architect. — All 
hail to the eagle, the Protector of the Cross, to the King 
the Sun and Rock of Prussia, to the Son of the Sun, 
who freed his Fatherland, Frederick William the Fourth, 
the Philopator, the Father of his Country, the Gracious 
One, the Favorite of Wisdom and History, the Guardian 
of the Rhine, whom Germany has chosen the Dispenser 
of Life. May the Most High God grant the King, and 
his Consort, the Queen, Elizabeth, the Rich in Life, the 
Philometor, the Mother of her Country, the Gracious 
One, an ever new and long life on Earth, and a blessed 
habitation in Heaven through all Eternity. In the year 
of our Saviour, 1842, in the tenth month, on the fifteenth 
day, on the forty-seventh Birthday of his Majesty, on 
the Pyramid of King Cheops; in the third year, in the 
fifth month, on the ninth day of the reign of his Ma- 
jesty ; in the year 3164 from the commencement of the 
Sothis period under the King Menepthes." 

Josephus says the Hebrews had to build Pyramids, 
which may be true with respect to the smaller and later 
ones. Some of these are built of brick, perhaps the 



72 



THE SPHINX. 



result of the cruel labor which Pharaoh and the task- 
masters extorted from them. Near the large Pyramid 
is the Sphinx, a colossal statue over 250 feet in length. 
A large part of it still remains covered with sand. The 
head and forepart of the statue have been excavated. It 
looks out from its sterile sand-grave upon the verdant 
Nile-meadows, like a mysterious sentinel in the land of 
the dead, mutely musing over the living world. Looking 
out upon the Egypt of the Nile from here, I saw what 
must have always appeared to the Egyptian as two dis- 
tinct worlds. One a region of life, unutterably green 
and lovely, with its beautiful life-bearing Nile ; the 
other a lifeless region, a plantless, fountainless world of 
graves, where death reigns supreme. Great sand-waves, 
like snow-drifts, strive to submerge the living grassy 
plain, and still the annual swelling beats death back into 
the desert, and extorts fruitfulness even out of the sand. 
But for the yearly inundations the desert would soon 
approach the banks of the Nile. Its mighty sway checks 
the sand-invader on its frontiers, where its proud waves 
must be stayed. 

On our return from the Pyramids we stopped at the 
village of Ghizeh to see the egg ovens. The hens of Egypt 
are less given to sedentary habits than their species in 
other quarters of the globe. After they have laid their 
eggs, they have little concern whether their offspring 
turn up in the form of poached eggs, omelets, or chicklings. 
But as such selfish notions would soon leave Egypt with- 
out eggs or chickens, the invention of man has stepped 
in and supplied ovens which hatch them by shoals. We 
crawled through a series of holes, over dust and fleas, 
into a heated apartment. The oven was perhaps as large 
as half a dozen ordinary-sized bake-ovens, heated to a 



EGYPTIAN EGG OVENS. 



73 



hatching temperature. The floor was strewn with a layer 
of fine hay, on which the eggs were laid. Some chicklings 
were just piercing and peeping through the shell with 
their little bills ; others were trying to kick off their 
prison-house and rise above their shelly existence, scram- 
bling over their unfledged neighbors, while others were 
lazily lying about in uncovered contentment. This hot- 
bed step-motherly treatment gives to Egypt a dwarfish 
race of chickens, scarcely half the size of those in other 
countries. 

The Nile is the source of earthly good to the Egyptian. 
Without a tributary for nearly 1500 miles ; with a source, 
which, after all the research of modern explorers, is veiled 
in mystery, its mighty unintelligible independence in- 
spires a respect in the Egyptian, which to this day 
amounts almost to adoration. Where does it rise, and 
through what realms does its young stream flow ? The 
rivers of other lands receive all, but give little. If their 
brooks and creeks withhold their streams, they dry up. 
But in the eyes of the Egyptian the Nile is a self- 
existent stream, that gets its waters from unknown 
resources ; like the Creator, it delights to give and bless, 
without telling where it gets wherewith to bless. For 
hundreds of miles the river flows slowly along with an 
equal volume of water, mild, majestic, and benignant, 
as his statue in the Vatican. Larger than the Thames, 
Rhine, or Danube in size, it is more like an American 
river than any I have seen in other lands. Its width 
varies from a half to three-quarters of a mile. 

The fertile inhabited part of Egypt is a strip of land 
from twenty to thirty miles wide, and 600 miles long. As 
it approaches the Mediterranean it becomes wider. This 
is fertilized by the yearly overflowing of the Nile. In 
7 



74 



OVERFLOW OF THE NILE. 



June the river begins to rise, and reaches its greatest 
height in October. If it rises less than twelve or more 
than twenty-eight feet above low water, the crops will fail. 
Thus every year it brings from the depth of Ethiopia 
rich, black deposits, and spreads them over the plain. 
During the inundation Egypt looks like a vast lake with 
many islands. The villages are built on heaps or hills 
of earth ; the roads are raised on embankments, so that 
the intercourse and safety of the people is not interrupted 
by the flood. In many places the water is carried to the 
remoter parts of the plain by means of canals, and large 
tanks are filled to preserve a supply for irrigation during 
the dry season. The Jewish historian says that the 
Hebrews helped to build these canals and ramparts 
during their Egyptian bondage. 

During the last weeks of the swelling the excitement 
of the people becomes intense, for it is the harbinger of 
fruitful or barren years. Heralds run through the cities 
and over the country to proclaim the daily rising ; and 
when the reports are favorable their joy knows no 
bounds, for it is their meat and drink, their raiment and 
rest. In its favor they live, move, and have their earthly 
being. It brings life on their earth, and so becomes a 
striking image of "a pure river of water of life." Kev. 
22 : L Before the inundation all vegetation is parched 
and burned up, and the country looks dreary, like ours in 
mid winter. The subsiding of the waters covers it again 
with vernal life. Some peasants scatter their seed on 
the sinking water, which soaks with it into the black 
mud, and at once begins to grow without any further 
attention. Perhaps Solomon alludes to this custom, 
when he says : " Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for 
thou shalt find it after many days." Eccl. 11 : 1. Then 



WINTER IN EGYPT. 



75 



too comes a rich feast for all manner of birds ; vultures, 
cormorants, and geese thrust their bills into the mud ; 
long lines of pelicans are busy along the water's edge, 
and flocks of the ibis, a white bird the size of a chicken, 
fly through the air in white clouds. Cicero says: "It 
was never known that any pers-on in Egypt ever abused 
a crocodile, an ibis, or a cat ; for its inhabitants would 
have suffered the most extreme torments, rather than be 
guilty of such sacrilege." While eating the sweet fish 
of the Nile, and looking at these snow-white birds, I had 
often to think that these were adored by the men who 
built Thebes and the Pyramids. The ibis is still a 
sacred bird to the Egyptians, which, like the stork 
among the Germans, is watched and protected with a 
half religious care. This accounts for their being so 
very numerous and tame. 

Winter is to the Egyptian what summer is to us. In 
February we saw the herds grazing amid the tall grass ; 
the wheat was in heads, and the flax in blossoms ; by 
day the air was warm as a Pennsylvania June, while the 
nights were cool. The hot sun and the absence of rain 
parches and dries up all vegetation in the summer. The 
cattle are fed with dry feed, and the country looks as 
dreary and bare as ours in winter. The plagues of Pha- 
raoh must have taken place in the latter part of February 
or beginning of March. When the plague of hail was 
sent, the cattle were grazing "in the field ;" "the flax 
and the barley was smitten ; for the barley was in the 
ear and the flax was boiled." Ex. 9 : 31-32. The locust 
followed in the wake of the hail, and devoured the re- 
maining vegetation. Generally barley and flax ripen in 
March, wheat and rye in April. 

In the region of the Delta, along the Mediterranean, 



76 



SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION.. 



rain falls in scanty showers, but not enough to fertilize 
and moisten the earth. In middle Egypt, about Mem- 
phis and Cairo, they have less, and further south they 
have none at all. After the waters of the flood have all 
dried away, numerous pumps are started on the banks 
of the Nile, worked by large buffaloes. These consist 
of a vertical wheel, with small buckets hung to the cir- 
cumference, which empty their contents into a ditch, 
and send it over adjoining lots. Everywhere, from early 
morning till late at night, the heavy, weary creaking of 
these pumps is heard. Did not Solomon refer to these 
wheels, with buckets or bowls fastened by cords, when he 
spake of the decay and death of man ? 

"Ere the silver cord be loosed, 
Or the golden bowl be broken, 
Or the pitcJier be broken at the fountain, 
Or the wheel broken at the cistern." 

Eccl. 12 : 6. 

In Egypt, where these wheels draw living water from life 
fountains, this figure is very expressive when applied to the 
functions of the human body. Others draw water out of 
wells and cisterns by means of a transverse pole poised on 
an upright post. A weight is fixed to one end of the pole, 
and a bucket, hung at a rope, to the other. The weight is 
as heavy as the bucket when full, so that when it is filled 
with water it rises of itself. Sometimes the foot is used 
to get the empty bucket down. Of the rainless region 
and its tedious irrigation, we have a number of intima- 
tions in Bible history, sometimes contrasting its drought 
and Nile dependence with the copious rains of Canaan. 
" For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not 
as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where 
thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as 



IMPORTANCE OF THE NILE. 



77 



a garden of herbs : But the land whither ye go to pos- 
sess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water 
of the rain of heaven." Deut. 11 : 10, 11. The river 
and ponds abound in fish, and many are the nets and 
angles in pursuit of them. " The fishers also shall 
mourn, and all they that cast angles into the brooks 
shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters 
shall languish." Isaiah 19 : 8. It seems that one of the 
Pharaohs, having constructed canals to convey the water 
over Egypt, withheld the honor due to God for the rich 
harvests, because the fertile flood was borne over the 
plain through his agency. Then said the Lord : " Be- 
hold I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, which 
hath said, my river is mine own, and I have made it for 
myself." Ezekiel 29 : 3. 

The dream of Pharaoh almost becomes a clear, intel- 
ligible prophecy, when viewed in the relation the Nile 
sustains to Egypt. Mediately it brings fruitful and bar- 
ren years. When the flood comes there will be a harvest, 
if it do not come there will be none. So the " seven well- 
favored kine, and fat-fleshed," that came up out of the 
river, were but so many annual inundations, which shed 
their blessings on the meadows. So, too, the ill-favored 
and lean-fleshed kine came up out of the river, and de- 
voured the others. For seven consecutive years there 
was a low Nile, and the drought burned up and devoured 
all the rich loam which the former seven years had be- 
stowed upon the land. Gen. 41. 

All the wells and cisterns of Egypt, whose water is fit 
to drink, derive their water from the Nile. And so 
when the river was turned into blood, all its dependent 
streams, ponds, pools, and wells became blood, "through- 
out all the land of Egypt." Indeed, the Nile has ever 
7* 



78 



LAND TENURE OF EGYPT. 



been the fountain of Egyptian prosperity and adversity. 
When the prophet foretold a great famine, it was because 
the river was " wasted and dried up, and they should turn 
the rivers far away ; and the brooks of defence should be 
emptied and dried up." Isaiah 19 : 5-6. 

When one sees the exuberant productiveness of Egypt, 
still producing its ancient articles of food, and when he 
watches these hungry fellows sitting around their iron 
pans and pots, with flesh, as of old, the seditious He- 
brew complaint receives a vivid illustration: "Who shall 
give us flesh to eat ? We remember the fish which 
we did eat in Egypt freely ; the cucumbers, and the 
melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic." 
Num. 11 : 4, 5. " Would to God we had died by the 
hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by 
the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full." 
Ex. 16 : 3. 

The political condition of the Egyptians has ever been, 
more or less, one of slavery. Under the governorship 
of Joseph all sold their land for bread, " Only the land of 
the priests bought he not." Gen. 47 : 22. Joseph furnished 
them with seed, and allowed them four-fifths of the crops. 
Since then Egypt has groaned under long centuries of 
oppression, until her national life has almost become 
extinct. The late Pasha, or governor, without the ex- 
cuse of a famine, by a single decree declared himself 
the owner of all the lands of Egypt, and so the people 
are but his tenants at will. Not even the priests and 
mosques were spared. The Pasha is nominally but the 
governor of Egypt, under the control of the Sultan; but 
if he pays his tribute he can treat his subjects as he 
pleases. Himself a subject of Turkey, he is the tyrant 
of a nation of slaves. Every village is compelled to 



THE PASHA'S MILITAEY SYSTEM. 



79 



farm two-thirds of its land for the governor, and a large 
proportion, of the remaining third is exacted for taxes. 
His manufactures monopolize labor. The people dare 
not even spin or weave the cotton which they raise, but 
are compelled to buy their clothing of him at his own 
prices. While slavery has been abolished, so that no 
one can own, buy, or sell a slave, all are the slaves of 
the Pasha. 

His army consists chiefly of persons violently dragged 
from their families and homes, to be his life-long bond- 
men. These are kidnapped into the army. A few days 
before my arrival in Cairo, his officers slily lighted 
down on Ghizeh, suddenly seized the young men in the 
streets, and dragged them off, without permission even to 
bid adieu to their parents and families. The village 
resounded with the most pitiful shrieks and lamentations ; 
the streets were filled with weeping mothers, almost fran- 
tic with grief : but the doom of their sons was sealed 
for life. 

To evade this cruel military slavery, mothers mutilate 
their infants. Old women and others, sometimes even 
parents, follow the cruel business of mangling children. 
You seldom find an able-bodied young man or youth, 
who has not one or more of his teeth broken out, that 
he may not be able to bite a cartridge ; a finger cut off, 
an eye plucked out, or blinded altogether, to save him 
from being pressed into the army. Besides this there is 
no way of escape. We had three Egyptians in our 
party through the Desert, two of whom bore the marks 
of the cruel precaution of their mothers. The cook had 
but one eye, and the dragoman had his forefinger cut 
off. Egypt still remains a " house of bondage," as really 
as in the days of Moses and Aaron. 



80 



DEGRADATION OF EGYPT. 



The ancient glory of Egypt is only seen in her tombs 
and temples. Her ancient spirit hovers sadly around 
the Pyramids ; she is the servant and slave of others, her 
people servile, cringing, and base. Her graves and tem- 
ples have been ransacked by strangers, her mummies 
and monuments of art are carried off to Rome, Berlin, 
London, and New York. The population has dwindled 
down to a mere fraction of its former number ; and what 
the plague and the Pasha have left, are to a great extent 
composed of cripples. Without schools, but a very few 
are able to read the Koran. With a tyrant at home, 
their land is owned by a foreign ruler. How literally 
the predictions of 2500 years ago have gone into fulfil- 
ment ! "I will diminish them that they shall no more 
rule over the nations." Ezek. 29 : 15. " There shall 
be no more a prince of the land of Egypt : And I will 
put a fear in the land of Egypt." Ezek. 30 : 13. What 
a light is shed on the history of Hebrew bondage, when 
read on the banks of the Nile ! Into this "river " Pha- 
raoh charged his people to cast the Hebrew children. 
By this "river's side" the daughter of Pharaoh found 
Moses. By the lifting of Moses' rod all its waters u were 
turned into blood, and after that it brought forth frogs 
abundantly." Still the spirit of the people droops under 
the curse of fulfilled prophecy. Has Egypt a future ? 
The British highway to India leads through it. The 
locomotive whirls a daily train along the Nile from Cairo 
to Alexandria in seven hours. The Egyptians are borne 
along with a cool, satisfied air, as if railroads had been a 
common thing in the days of the Pharaohs. The shrill 
whistle utters sounds that might be prophetic of some- 
thing better. 

Even the present Pasha does and says some good 



EGYPT'S FUTURE. 



81 



things. He has fallen in lore with European life. He 
is gradually introducing more civilized customs. Fifteen 
years ago every Frank traveller walking the streets of 
Cairo, wearing a European or American hat or coat, was 
liable to be spit upon and bespattered with mud. Now 
any man can travel from Alexandria to Thebes with per- 
fect safety, provided he have a sound cane and an arm to 
use it. The time may come when the soul and genius 
of old Egypt shall pass into a new people, and her soil 
be again strewn with works of greatness. Then " the 
day shall come when the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, 
Blessed be Egypt my people/' Isaiah 19 : 25. 



82 



ROUTE TO JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER V. 

fxum d&gqpt in til? %tl 

The more direct route between Egypt and Jerusalem 
is that over Gaza, whose doors Samson carried off, and 
through the land of the Philistines, lying along the 
shores of the Mediterranean Sea. This passes through 
a region less scant in water and grass than that over 
Suez and Mount Sinai. Here and there a village is 
found where provision can be bought. The distance 
is about 300 miles, and requires from twelve to fifteen 
days. Horses and asses are used here ; while only 
camels can be used on the other route. Abraham "went 
down into Egypt " over this route ; and the sons of Israel 
came to buy corn by the same way. "Their asses" 
could not have borne their burdens over the waterless 
and more deserted district of Sinai. When crops fail in 
Canaan, they still come "down to buy corn in Egypt," 
and transport it on these long-eared, big-headed little 
animals. Flocks of them are met on this road, laden 
with sacks of wheat, whose drivers, with their switches, 
constantly remind one of the sons of Jacob. " Joseph 
went up to bury his father," "with chariots and horse- 
men," "a very great company;" a long, sad funeral- 
train dragged its solemn length after the embalmed 
corpse of the good old man for over 300 miles, ere 
they reached his grave. Joseph and the Virgin must 



PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY. 



83 



have fled to Egypt the same way. Doubtless this road 
was much travelled in the dnys of Moses, and well-known 
to him. But God led them not through the way of the 
land to the Philistines, although that would have been 
much nearer. 

A journey over the track of the Hebrews, past the Red 
Sea and Mount Sinai, is more of an undertaking, being 
nearly again as far. I had the good fortune of meeting 
a congenial companion, Rev. Joseph R. Mann, from New 
York. I trust he will pardon me for introducing his 
name here, since I am indebted for much of the success, 
profit, and enjoyment of this part of my journey, to this 
intelligent and pious Christian gentleman. To a mind 
richly stored with sacred lore, he added the warm and 
genial sympathies of that " faith which worketh by love." 
Companions on such a pilgrimage, mingling their prayers 
and praises, tears and joys, amid scenes and altars of 
such holy renown, form ties lasting and sacred as the 
religion which they commemorate. May our Almighty 
Master soon restore him to that bodily vigor, which he 
so patiently, but alas ! vainly sought in a foreign clime, 
and permit him to use his rare talents in the service of 
His kingdom and for the salvation of souls. 

We employed Ahmed Saide, an efficient and intelligent 
dragoman, who has been in the service of Bayard Taylor 
and other noted Eastern travellers. He was to take us 
over the Mount Sinai route to J erusalem, thence through 
Palestine and Syria, to Damascus, Baalbeck, and Beirut, 
furnishing us with boarding, beasts of burden, guards, 
and every thing else which necessarily belongs to such a 
journey, for the sum of $1,500. Small parties are 
always more expensive, while large ones have more 
wishes and tastes to gratify, and in the end are more 



84 



LEAVE CAIRO. 



liable to dissatisfaction. In a few days Ahmed bad 
fitted up bis tents, and laid in his necessary store of pro- 
vision. Our desert apparel consisted of turbaned grey 
felt bats, pantaloons overlaid with gazelle leather, soft, 
uncolored shoes, red flannel shirts, a black, coarse bur- 
nouse, like a cloak with a cowl or cap to it, a fez or little 
round red cap with a long black tassel on the crown, and 
of course an umbrella to keep the sun off. 

Arrayed in this fantastic garb, we bade adieu to our 
host on the morning of the 14th of March, and ap- 
proached our camels, kneeling under the shade-trees in 
front of his mansion. We were now going into a coun- 
try where the camel was the only vehicle of travel. On 
a saddle-frame, rudely nailed together, to fit on the 
hump of his back, were a pile of rags, mats, carpets, 
comforts, and camel bags made of carpet material. All 
this raised our seats into a region to which few carriages 
or riders of other countries can aspire. My first effort 
at mounting a camel came well nigh proving a failure* 
The brute sprang to his feet with such a sudden pitching 
motion as to give me no little trouble to cleave to his 
back. After leaning over our lofty seats, and pressing 
the hands of a few friends, our " Ships of the Desert " 
slowly sailed through a neighboring gate, then through a 
series of rank cactus fields, and at once entered upon the 
sterile desert. On a rising hill we passed a large burial- 
place, full of rude stones and grave-marks. No tree nor 
blade of grass was seen. The gravelly earth looked as 
dead and dreary as the graves. In a few hours we met 
our burden camels and their drivers, who had started the 
previous evening. On an eminence, about eight miles 
from Cairo, we looked back for the last time on the 
dream-like scenes we were leaving. The windmills, 



ANNOYANCES OF CAIRO. 



85 



minarets, and mosques stood prominently above the city ; 
the Pyramids rose out of their sand-field against the sky, 
seeming to swim in the clry, dense haze, the whole look- 
ing more like a dream-land than a reality. And now we 
turn our faces over devious paths toward the Land of 
Promise, perhaps never to see these land-marks of Old 
Time again. 

Those who have never tried it, would scarcely imagine 
w T ith what a light and joyous heart one enters upon this 
desert journey. Deducting its annoyances, Cairo is a 
very interesting city for a few weeks' study. But the 
crooked, crowded streets, with stores half spilt into them, 
passing over houses and under them ; the swarms of 
rude, impertinent donkey-boys with their braying asses — 
the cabs and cabmen of Cairo, alike the most useful and 
the most pestering of necessary evils in this part of the 
world — hungry fleas, flies, and a rich remnant of the 
third plague of Pharaoh, are too much for a man of 
ordinary powers of endurance to bear without discomfort. 
Before such an array of foes, flight is wiser than resist- 
ance. Then, too, there is something fascinating in the 
prospect of getting away for once from the busy hive 
and drive of men, out in the pure, free air of the untried 
desert, where you can step out of the old beaten paths 
of formal customs and conventionalities. Here no fenced- 
up road or forbidden path restricts your plans, but the 
wide, wide waste is open and free to your wandering 
predilections. Wherever fancy may lead you, and the 
smooth earth offer you a soft bed, you can pitch your 
tent, and with a gun by your side, call it your own for 
the night. 

Our caravan numbered fifteen men in all. The gene- 
ral-in-chief was our dragoman, Ahmed Saide, a Theban 
8 



86 



AN EGYPTIAN COOK. 



by birth. He was a true specimen of a thorough-bred 
Egyptian. Though naturally very intelligent, he could 
neither read nor write. He told us he had only one wife, 
nearly white, and an interesting son, nine years old, 
whom he has already betrothed to a cousin. He says 
his wife wishes "to be glad" in the marriage festivities 
and happy family of her son before she dies. Waiting 
till children are so old, he remarked, often deprives pa- 
rents of these enjoyments. He thinks he will let him 
marry in a year or two, and is now already educating 
him for the Madommedan Priesthood. Arrayed in fine 
Eastern costume, with two five-barrel revolvers in his 
belt, a gun and long sword hung to his saddle, he forms 
one of the most prominent and picturesque personages in 
the group. Mahommed Abdraghman, our cook, was also 
an Egyptian. He had but one eye, dark mulatto com- 
plexion, was pock-marked, and past middle life. He was 
a kind-hearted man, of few words, and by a long and 
faithful service in his department of earthly usefulness, 
has rendered himself famous as a preparer of savory 
dishes. In this way he has aided the investigations of 
modern science, in that he was cook for Lepsius, the 
leader of the celebrated Prussian scientific expedition to 
Egypt. Poor fellow ! he can never write his name, much 
less a book ; but a man that prepares healthful food for 
one who labors in the cause of science, helps to give 
spring and vigor to his mind, and humbly contributes 
his mite to the great cause of human improvement. 
Then we had Firage, our waiter, a Nubian boy, nearly 
grown, jet black and jovial, a real jolly negro. Ahmed 
bought him with his mother; but since the Pasha has 
abolished slavery, he remains with his kind master from 
choice. Our caravan consisted of ten camels, led by 



OUR BEDOUIN GUARD. 



87 



ten swarthy Bedouins, one of whom acted as sheikh or 
captain. They were armed with short swords, bowie- 
knives and guns, which, added to their native looks of 
untrained wildness, were anything but suggestive of 
pleasant thoughts. Their shaven heads were stuck in a 
clumsy turban, coiled round the temples like a heavy 
twisted towel. Their little piercing eagle eyes peered 
out of their sunken sockets, giving them a contemplative 
and mysterious look. And these are to be our only pro- 
tectors on this unsheltered wilderness ! Nothing ven- 
tured nothing won. "If God be for us, who shall be 
against us?" As we rode up to them, they sullenly 
greeted us with the customary "Peace be with thee," 
touching the breast, lips, and forehead with the right 
hand. Going into a region where no provision, save an 
occasional lamb or kid, could be bought, we took with 
us a supply : two large casks of filtered Nile water, 
which was all the good water we had for nearly two 
weeks ; a chicken coop with thirty chickens, and several 
turkeys, besides all the indispensable little table, kitchen, 
and bed conveniences, crammed into bags, bales, and 
chests, were piled and hung on our slow train. 

The face of the country between Cairo and the Red 
Sea is not a sandy waste, as some imagine, but a coarse, 
pebbly soil, hard and barren. Not a foot of cultivated 
land. The surface is uneven, varying into low, rolling 
hills. Low bushes of hashish, a species of pale, rough, 
woody grass, were seen here and there, and after long 
intervals, a thorn tree. Our road was a broad, beaten 
track, smooth and well used, running straight as a rail- 
way over a prairie. Travelling over it, I had often to 
think of the road which the forerunner of Christ was to 
prepare, and "make straight in the desert a highway 



88 



THE MIRAGE. 



for our God." Isaiah 40 : 3. The " stones " and " stum- 
bling blocks " were piled on heaps by the roadside. Isaiah 
62 : 10. No human dwelling is found along the road, 
save telegraphic posts at intervals of five miles. These 
consist of a walled enclosure, for the accommodation of 
travellers, and have a few soldiers to protect them. All 
the Anglo-Indian travel passes over this road, which ac- 
counts for its improved condition. But the country 
through which it passes is a most perfect desolation, 
with no blade of verdure to relieve its dreariness. Far 
as the eye can reach, the scene is bare and barren. No 
beast or bird is seen, except vultures of enormous size, 
preying on the carcasses of camels that perished by the 
way. 

We passed large caravans from Suez, laden with India 
merchandise. One numbered 190 camels. The second 
day we saw mirage for the first time. The tepid water 
in our leathern bottles, hung to each one's saddle, was 
already becoming tasteless, when a lake of fresh water 
would have been very refreshing. Scarcely a mile from 
us large lakes suddenly appeared, fringed with trees, 
but always flaked away into nothing as we approached 
them. It seems this illusion is produced by an unequal 
refraction of the lower strata of the atmosphere. 

One, unaccustomed to this mode of travelling, can 
hardly conceive how all the causes and effects of home 
comforts, animate and inanimate, in all their details, can 
be carried on camels. After spending nine and ten 
hours on these animated rocking chairs, a convenient 
spot is selected to encamp. The Arabs jerk at the halt- 
ers and blow through their teeth to bring the camels 
down on their knees. The baggage is untied, a bale un- 
rolled, and lo ! it swells and spires up into a full-grown 



DESERT ENCAMPMENT. 



89 



and graceful tent. The nimble Arabs run from rope to 
rope, fastened to wooden pins which they drive into the 
earth. In half an hour, we have a neatly furnished 
dwelling, and can take a gentle siesta on our bed-sofas. 
Kind reader, hast thou ever been tired ? If thou hast 
never endured the swinging gait of a camel beneath an 
Eastern sun, with only warm water to drink for ten con- 
secutive hours, I doubt whether thou knowest what it 
is to be weary. We step down from our camels, and at 
once recline on the earth for rest. A few moments bring 
sleep and dreams of far-off friends and home, which are 
soon dispelled by a shout from Ahmed, telling us that 
the tent is ready. In the meanwhile, another bale ex- 
pands into kitchen proportions, with all the unnameable 
array of pan, pot, and kettle furniture, in full blast. 
The camels browse among the dry desert bushes, the 
chickens, running at large, cackle merrily around our 
camp, giving our newly-acquired desert premises quite a 
cozy rural aspect. Presently Firage spreads the table, 
and then comes the pleasanter part of our adventures. 

The camels are brought to the tents and made to 
kneel around them in a circle. Within the circle, ram- 
parts are formed with camel-saddles and luggage — an 
intrenchment on a small scale. In the centre of the 
small enclosure the Arabs kindle a brush-fire. While 
the rest are seated around it, one will mix unbolted 
ground barley with water, in a wooden dish, make a 
large cake and cover it with the coals. Of course these 
large cakes are unleavened, and made with little trouble. 
The kneading and baking is in perfect keeping with 
Sarah's plan : " Make ready three measures of fine 
meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth." Gen. 
18 : 6. And the Hebrews, somewhere in this region, 
8* 



90 



THE DESERT AT NIGHT. 



" baked unleavened cakes." Ex. 12 : 39. In the morn- 
ing, they soak the dry remains of the previous evening, 
sometimes each "dipped a sop" into the dish of water. 
John 13 : 26. This is their best and worst fare, in the 
strength of which they walk ten and twelve hours with- 
out any perceptible fatigue. Their supper over, they 
smoke their long pipes, reclining round the fire. We sit 
in the cool of the evening before the door of the tent. 
A soothing coolness pervades the air, fresh without being 
cold, a temperature unlike any in more northern or more 
southern climes. The stars look so pretty and pure, 
that one never wearies in looking at them. While look- 
ing, we listen to the awful hush of the desert. No bay- 
ing watch-dog, or buzz of bug or insect is heard — nought 
but the silence of solitude, only broken by an occasional 
suppressed sound of an Arab's remark, or the petulant 
murmur of a camel. Night in the desert, though void 
of the sweet music of rustling leaves and chirping crick- 
ets, has a peculiar charm. Not the charm of novelty 
only, but of delights peculiarly its own. The vast, life- 
deserted, uninhabited expanse around you, the starry 
heavens above you, and the thought of being alone in 
this land of awful stillness, give you feelings which can 
only find rest in worship. Here, more than in any 
country I have seen, one feels 

' ' How beautiful is night ! 
A dewy freshness fills the silent air." 

Our Bedouin groups watch the glowing coals, and the 
smoke curling up in spiral .pillars. One after another 
rolls himself up in his coarse blanket, and takes special 
care to cover his head, that the moon may " not smite 



BEDOUIN WATCH-FIRE. 



91 



him by night." Psalm 121 : 6. Their turbans wrapped 
thick around the head protect them against the sun by 
day. Here they sleep, and sleep sweetly, with the bare 
earth for their bed, the sky for their canopy, while a few 
wake in turn as guards, around a watch-fire, and beguile 
the still long hours of night in humming the story of 
Aboused, a noted chieftain of their tribe. But we must 
see this whole picture in detail, and so we steal around 
the enclosure to look at it. All is still as the grave. 
No sound of life, neither cricket, katydid, nor owl, 
is -heard. Only the deep long breath of the sleeping 
Bedouin, and the drowsy, careless muttering of the 
guards. Baggage, chests, chickens, camels, and men 
huddled together in moonlight, tents and stars around 
and over us, friends and home over on the other side of 
the earth, now in broad daylight, finish our mental pic- 
ture for the day. We commit ourselves to Israel's 
keeper, and sweetly sleep in our frail tabernacle, leaving 
Him to attend to the robbers far and near. 

A slight fumbling to untie the string of our curtain- 
door, awakes me; and "in peeps the black head of Firage, 
showing his white teeth, and blundering a " good morn- 
ing," which simply means, "Please get up." Well, we 
rise with the sun. We read a chapter or two from the 
history of the Exodus, associated with our brief dwelling 
place, and commit ourselves in prayer to Israel's guide. 
While taking our breakfast, the Bedouins bale and pack 
our affairs, and scarcely have we passed the threshold 
ere our dwelling falls into pieces, and shrinks into a bale 
of baggage. How often this reminded me of the disso- 
lution of our earthly house ! ' ; For we know that if our 
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have 
a building of God, an house not made with hands, eter- 



92 



MONOTONOUS JOURNEY. 



nal in the heavens." 2 Cor. 5 : 1. While the loading 
is going on, the greatest noise and confusion prevails. 
Bedouins shout and scold, hunting, pulling, and tying 
ropes; and while the baggage is tied on, the kneeling 
camels snarl and grunt as if they were trying to die. 
In -a few moments the kitchen is locked into chests, 
furniture into hales and bundles, chickens into the coop, 
and our whole unabiding city slowly moving towards the 
promised land. Our journey is monotonous. "We meet 
neither stream, town, nor dwelling, to relieve the tedium. 
An occasional thorn tree is quite an exciting discovery. 
Should we happen to meet one of these about noon, we 
take our noonday meal in the shade. The latter per- 
haps consisting of a cold fowl, with a few figs and 
oranges. 

Our Bedouins are in a high glee, now telling stories, 
then urging their camels, by praising their faithfulness 
in little songs, and promising the Prophet's blessing if 
they are good, and much kindness when they get home. 
In all my travels, I noticed but one instance where a 
Bedouin beat his camel. Ours were treated with the 
tenderest kindness, whether from motives of affection or 
gain, I know not. A slight tap would raise the ire of 
my leader, with the impatient "la, la" (no, no). Ever- 
more, he would stroke and pat the uncomely beast, even 
praise him for his faults, and would hear nothing about 
him but "taib, taib" (good, good). As for their external 
appearance, the camel was rather the better looking of 
the two. His halter was studded with shells of different 
colors, and his long-haired garment looked none the 
worse for being unwashed. That part of the Arab 
which boasted of clothing, was covered with a garment 
of less cleanly pretensions. The first day, my leader 



BEDOUIN COSTUME. 



93 



made a suit while he led his camel, with a view, as he 
said, of taking his wife by surprise in his new and white 
apparel. He made it of coarse unbleached muslin, sowed 
it together without any cutting whatever — a proficiency 
in the sewing art to which few of his craft of fairer skin 
have attained. But a Bedouin's wardrobe is very simple 
in its make. His whole apparel is nearly equivalent to 
the shirt of his white brother, only that he has no sleeves 
and collar. His shoes or sandals are equally simple — 
a piece of the dry skin of a fish tied to the sole of the 
foot, with a few straps ("latchets") of the same. Some 
of their chiefs still have servants, the lowest and most 
unworthy of whom must untie their sandals. John the 
Baptist compares himself with one of these, in the ser- 
vice of Christ: "The latchet of whose shoes I am not 
worthy to stoop down and unloose." Luke 3 : 16. A 
figure more expressive of unworthiness could not be used 
in the East. 

The first day, we encamped about twenty-two miles from 
Cairo. On the following day, our track ran parallel to Mt. 
Attakah, and several miles from its base. It is supposed 
by some that the Hebrews approached the Red Sea along 
this mountain. We met a number of cabs conveying 
India passengers from Suez to Cairo (a distance of eighty 
miles) — a most uncomfortable, nondescript vehicle, with 
two wheels under a large board box. The third morn- 
ing we passed "Ajerud," a station for the Mecca pil- 
grims, and which Stanley thinks may possibly mark the 
site of Pi-hahiroth. Ex. 14 : 2. A fortified wall formed 
an enclosure for protection, containing the tomb of a 
Mohammedan saint. Without was a well of bitter 
water. North and south of us were bald red mountain 
chains, running parallel with the road, four or five miles 



94 



SUEZ. 



distant. At noon, we lunched in the shade of a tele- 
grapic tower, or post station. We saw the Red Sea 
several hours before we reached its shore ; but the mi- 
rage had so often deceived us that we were slow to trust 
its appearance. Finally, we arrived at Suez in the early 
part of the afternoon of our fourth day from Cairo. 
This is a town of 1400 inhabitants, with a shattered 
wall on three sides, and the sea on the fourth. Its ap- 
pearance is not unlike a large khan or "inn." A num- 
ber of strangely-constructed boats, great and small, were 
lying here. The timber and other material for these 
vessels, were brought from Cairo on camels. Some of 
the sailors (Arabs, Turks, and Chinese,) were sporting 
about on the wharf; others were performing their devo- 
tions on the decks, it being 3 p. M., the ninth hour of 
day, while a party of India Englishmen were perform- 
ing their ablutions in the sea. A stroll through the 
bazaar convinced us that, in point of filth and fleas, it 
was not much behind the other towns of Egypt. As 
this was the last place deserving the name of a town 
this side of Hebron and Palestine, from which we were 
separated by one month's travel, Ahmed added to his 
stock of provision. Two hours gave us all that we 
wished to see or buy in this filthy port of India travel. 

The town of Suez is situated on the Red Sea, a 
few miles from its northern extremity. Part of our cara- 
van was sent directly around the head of the gulf to 
meet us on the opposite side. We hired a boat to ferry 
us directly across, it being about a half or three-quarters 
of a mile wide here. Our clumsy craft ran aground 
before we reached the shore, whereupon two brawny 
Bedouins acted boat and pilot. Each seizing a leg, they 
held me tremblingly above the water, pushed and stag- 



THE RED SEA. 



95 



gered through the swelling surf, and filling me with 
thoughts of an unwilling plunge into the briny deep. In 
the meanwhile one of our Bedouins brought the camels 
we had ridden from Suez round the head of the sea. It 
being low tide, the poor fellow concluded to take a near 
cut, thinking it to be the natural depth of the water. 
He literally worked against wind and tide, the waves 
still rising around him as he looked wishfully and sorrow- 
fully toward the shore. The slow camels, the welling 
rising tide, the waves and his short legs, as he said, 
nearly proved his ruin. Bonaparte, in his expedition to 
Egypt, attempted to ford the sea, perhaps to show that 
it could be crossed without the intervention of a miracle. 
It was about getting dark, and the tide rose and flowed 
more rapidly than he had expected. Though he had 
guides with him, his rash attempt was soon rebuked by 
the waters, from which he narrowly escaped with his 
life. 

Our Arab boatmen dropped us on the shore of Arabia 
and Asia. This strip of water, the Gulf of Suez, the 
western arm of the Red Sea, is the boundary between 
Asia and Africa. While waiting for our wave-ridden 
Bedouin, we picked up shells, viewed the sea up and 
down the coast, and thought and spoke of the fugitive 
Hebrews crossing it somewhere in sight. For three 
hours we rode southward, along a path nearly parallel 
with the sea, over a plain of rough gravel and sand. The 
sea was in view, and of the sea we spoke and thought, for 
it is still the great mounment of Grod's willingness to in- 
terpose in behalf of his people. We reached Ayoun 
Mousa (the wells of Moses), an hour after sunset (7 P. m). 

It was a long and weary day's journey, and yet a 
weariness full of the most delightful interest and satis- 



96 



SUNDAY AT SUEZ. 



faction. Soon Mohammed, our patient cook, fanned his 
charcoal-fire before his tent, and got his pans simmering 
and steaming with incipient dishes. Our temporal wants 
attended to, we strolled around the tents, meditating and 
wondering over the strange things that happened here 
more than three thousand years ago. 

A singular place is this, where we shall tarry over 
Sabbath, the only green spot this side of Cairo. Here is 
a green island of tamarisk trees in this treeless Desert, 
growing among seventeen wells — holes scooped out of the 
earth from four to six feet deep. A vegetable garden, 
belonging to the English Consul-General at Suez, adds 
to its cheerfulness, all refreshed and fertilized by the 
wells. I believe the place is not mentioned in the Bible. 
But as it certainly lies within the range of the Hebrew 
Passage, it is natural that tradition and conjecture should 
assign it a place in that memorable scene. It is reputed 
to have been the first stopping-place after they reached 
the opposite shore, where Moses and Miriam composed 
and sang their songs. Ex. 15. We read them during 
our evening devotions so as we had never read them 
before. 

The next day was the Sabbath. Our .tents were half 
an hour from the sea. There we read, sang, prayed, 
and spoke together. At our arrival the evening before, 
we met a Mr. Smith and lady from London, who asked 
the privilege of worshipping with us. Some of our 
Bedouins sat a short distance from our tents listening, 
with apparent wonder, to our praises. Standing in sight 
of the sea, we sang Watts' version of the 121st Psalm, 
" Upward I lift mine eyes." Here, under the scorching 
sun of a southern clime, in a sterile, inhospitable waste, 



ATTAKAH AND DERAJ. 



97 



one finds great relief in pouring out his heart through 
such stanzas as the third of this Psalm. 

"No burning Keats by day, 
Nor blasts of evening air, 
Shall take my health away, 
If Gocl be -with me there. 
Thou - art my sun, and thou my shade, 
To guard my head by night or noon." 

In the afternoon we strolled along the beach, musing 
over the scene. Immediately opposite two mountain 
ranges, Attakah and Deraj, receded from the sea, form- 
ing a valley, through which occurred the traditional ap- 
proach of the Hebrews. The more northern range forms 
an angle with the sea on the north side, of perhaps thirty 
or forty degrees. Here some locate the Passage. 
Others again would have it nearer Suez, where it is only 
a mile or two wide. Then there are places where it can 
be forded during low tide, where modern Rationalists 
get the Hebrews across without the intervention of mir- 
aculous power. But unfortunately for their theory, the 
gulf is so narrow here that one cannot see how " the 
host of Pharaoh, with the chariots and horsemen," could 
all be pressed in at one time, so as to be covered with the 
water. Robinson thinks the arm of the sea was anciently 
wider and deeper here. But, even admitting this, it is 
hard to see how they could have been " entangled" here, 
unless we suppose the Egyptians to have surrounded them 
in a semicircle. 

To my mind, the second passage named is by far the 
most in accordance with the narrative. Mount Attakah, 
forming the above-named angle, meets the sea some 
eicrht or ten miles below Suez. Toward this corner the 

o 

large affrighted multitude of Moses was moving. Eight 
9 Q 



98 



THE HEBREW PASSAGE. 



or ten miles further north they might have rounded 
the gulf on dry ground; but Moses was told to lead 
them between Migdol and the sea. Why ? Going down 
on this side of the sea towards Mount Attakah, "Pha- 
raoh will say, they are entangled in the land, the wil- 
derness hath shut them in," with the rugged mountain 
before them and on the right, himself and his army 
behind them, and the sea on their left. At Suez and 
above it, the sea is from three-quarters to a mile in 
width. South of Attakah, at the valley first mentioned, 
it is twelve miles wide. Northward its breadth dimin- 
ishes as you approach Suez. Ex. 14. 

Wherever they may have crossed, there can be no 
doubt that our view, from where we stood on the beach 
that Sabbath afternoon, extended over a scope which 
included the passage. Fancy the vast multitude, two 
millions of souls, approaching the sea at nightfall, right 
along the opposite shore, upbraiding Moses. They had 
been travelling three long and hard days ; hungry, weary, 
and disheartened. They heard the Egyptians pursuing, 
though " not near " yet. Night was on them ; they were 
shut in by the sea and the mountain. Then the vast 
multitude pours its murmuring complaints on this meek 
and mighty Moses, the servant of the most high God, 
for leading them into such a dilemma. He approached 
the shore, raised his arm, and lo ! the east wind divided 
the waters. "And the children pf Israel went into the 
midst of the sea upon dry ground ; and the waters were 
a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left." 
They crossed and crowded on the opposite bank and 
plain, perhaps where we stand, for they must have 
covered an area of miles around. The Egyptians, with 
carriage, horse, and footmen, dash in after them. Then 



OVERTHROW OF THE EGYPTIANS. 99 

the Lord overthrew them in the midst of the sea, " cover- 
ing the chariots and horsemen and all the host of Pha- 
raoh that came into the sea after them." The falling 
tide left the dead Egyptians strewn upon the sea shore. 
" The Egyptian whom they had seen yesterday, they will 
see no more forever." The. sea and shores bear such 
a matter-of-fact' appearance, that it requires but little 
effort of fancy to bring the whole vividly before your 
mind. The sun set behind a transparent cloud, which 
hung the heavens with colors like a fiery drapery, and 
reflected a broad road of rosy light across the dark blue 
sea. Methought such alight-path, "the pillar of fire" 
must have laid on the sea, to one standing on the oppo- 
site shore on that eventful night. 

This Red Sea Sabbath closed less peacefully than it 
began. While quietly sitting in our tent at night-fall, 
we heard a quick breath of air, a few heavy drops of 
rain, then sudden puffs of wind blew in the side of the 
tent. Rather let the house go than be crushed or carried 
off with it. For a moment I vainly held it up, then we 
sprang through the curtain-door, without untying the 
cord. The air was full of sand, hailing and rattling on 
head and house. The tent reeled and flapped to and fro 
under the torturing grip of the storm. The cord-pins 
flew out of the moistened sand ; once the ropes were 
loose the storm had it all its own way. Every moment 
I expected to see our house fleeing from us. Meanwhile 
Ahmed tried to make his orders heard above the noise 
of the " howling wilderness." The Bedouins fought man- 
fully, some holding on to the cords, others trying to 
throw new ones over the central pole, others again driving 
new pins into the sand, all wildly shouting and running 
around, like men trying to defy the elements. Here 



100 



STORM ON 



THE RED SEA. 



one holding on to his turban, there one flinging his arms 
about in a phrenzy of excitement, others throwing their 
blankets over head to shelter them against the san-d, 
while the storm blew the shreds of their sooty slips in 
all directions. Yet amid this savage confusion of storm 
and Bedouins, every man seemed to know what he was 
about, and did something that had to be done. When 
the storm abated, we hardly knew whether to venture 
into our sorry tent for the balance of the night. We 
retired, uncertain whether we should not awake, en- 
tangled in the folds, or in pursuit of our fugitive house. 
But Israel's Keeper, " who neither sleepeth nor slumber- 
eth," kept us in safety. Our house, like the life of the 
foolish man, was built upon the sand, in which the cord- 
pins would not hold after it was soaked. "The rain 
descended, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house, 
and it fell." Matt. 7 : 26, 27. Every one caught in such 
a pelting sand-storm in the desert after night, will know 
what the Bible means by " the waste howling wilder- 
ness." Deut. 32 : 10. 



DESERT ILLUSIONS. 



101 



CHAPTER VI. 



March 9th, 1857. — We started from Ayoun Mousa, in 
company with our English friends. In the wilderness 
one will not stand on much ceremony for an acquaint- 
ance when you meet those who worship your God and 
speak your language ; nor are friendships formed here 
easily broken or forgotten. It was a lovely morning, — ■ 
a pleasant relief after such a storm. The bracing and 
balmy air laden with an exhilarating sea-breeze, forced 
every one either to sing or talk. Our journey led us 
southward, in sight of the sea, whose color was of a 
dark deep blue, excelling in beauty any of the Scotch or 
Swiss lakes that I had seen. The chain of mountains 
beyond was veiled in a soft bluish light, so transparent 
that they seemed more like the unrolling of a panorama 
than a reality. Large illusive lakes again spread out 
over the distant plain, skirted with lofty trees. As we 
approached them the water vanished into air, and the 
trees into bushes of dry desert grass. Four or five miles 
east of us was a range of mountains of a brownish, sand- 
stone color, running parallel to the sea. The next day 
we continued in the same direction. The trees entirely 
disappeared again, and naught remained but hashish, dry, 
leafless grass, resembling small, dead brush-wood, which 
our camels cropped off with no little zest. A marvellous 
9* 



102 



MAE AH. 



masticating machine these animals have. They grind up 
thorn-branches full of sharp pins, as eagerly and easily 
as a bunch of grass. 

Toward noon of the second day, we descried a small 
clump of palm-trees in the distance — a sure sign of water, 
either above or below ground. Ahmed at once said it 
was Marah. On a small elevation, like an artificial heap 
of earth, we found a well, five or six feet deep, and per- 
haps as many feet in diameter, with about two feet of 
water. A few small palm-trees were the only signs of 
life around it. Languid and thirsty, having carried our 
warm Nile water for more than a week through the sun, 
and panting for a fresh drink as the hart panteth for the 
water-brooks, we hastily alighted to taste our new-found 
well. But who could drink such stuff? Its bitterness 
only mocked our thirst ; and with a keen feeling of dis- 
appointment, perhaps of half-suppressed murmuring, we 
turned to our leathern bottles for a tepid draught. " So 
Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went 
out into the wilderness of Shur ; and they went three 
days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when 
they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters 
of Marah ; for they were bitter ; therefore the name of 
it was called Marah." Ex. 15 : 22, 23. For three days 
they had travelled without water — a great multitude — at 
least two millions of souls — old people and the sick, deli- 
cate women, with their infants, trying to keep up with 
the crowd, all trudging over the hot earth, beneath a 
burning sun, as best they could. We can imagine how 
persons burning up, and delirious with fever, would cla- 
mor and beg for water ; how children shrieked and wailed 
in the arms of mothers, until, like Hagar, they laid them 
out of sight, that they might not see their pitiful and 



LIFE S MAR AH. 



103 



distressing end. Strong men reeled for want of water. 
Then came the welcome news, water. " Maim," the Be- 
douin still cries, and reverently praises his Allah when 
the precious water is found. Those nearest the bitter 
pool rush to get a draught, but turn away with nauseous 
disgust. The report of its bitterness soon spread through 
the camp, and the languishing, enfeebled crowd, gave 
vent to their disappointment in murmurings against 
Moses ; " saying, What shall we drink ? " Though sinful, 
under the circumstances, it was human to murmur, as 
those will find who travel through this part of Arabia in 
certain seasons of the year. From the Wells of Moses, 
where the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea, to Marah, it 
took us fifteen hours, which would make the distance 
about thirty-five miles. So great and turbulent a multi- 
tude as the Hebrews, would at least require "three days " 
to travel such a distance. 

Weary and faint, we turned away from Marah, to seek 
the shadow of a high projecting rock, where we took our 
noonday repast ; meanwhile speaking of the beautiful 
imagery of Isaiah, foretelling the blessedness of Christ's 
kingdom, which shall be "As rivers of water in a dry 
place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." 
Isaiah 32 : 2. 

How many little Marahs we encounter in life's pil- 
grimage ! Bitter waters are given us when we are well- 
nigh ready to perish. Our spirits yearn for rest, but it 
comes through affliction and sorrow. 

"E'en the rapture of pardon is mingled with fears, 
And the cup of thanksgiving with penitent tears." 

Sometimes, perhaps, we turn away from the cup of grief 
with murmuring impatience. But Christ turns our Ma- 



104 HIGHWAYS OF THE DESERT. 



rahs into fountains of sweet water. When God opens 
our eyes, we see, like Hagar, a gracious " well of water/' 
When we " cry unto the Lord," he shows us " a tree " 
which makes the waters sweet. And these are the sweet 
uses of adversity — Marah — that it shows us the healing 
tree of life, Jesus Christ. 

Towards evening we encamped in Wady Ghurundel — 
supposed to be the Elim of the Bible. Ex. 15 : 27. The 
twelve wells are no longer seen ; but the sand is saturated 
with bitter water, where our Bedouins scooped out small 
basins, in which they gathered enough to water their 
camels. Numerous tamarisk bushes are scattered over 
the little valley, and a few palm-trees — perhaps the lineal 
descendants of the " threescore and ten." 

Hitherto we have been traversing plains ; to-day we 
have entered into the intricate mountain-texture of Sinai 
— no continuous ranges, but short arms, meeting and 
parting at every conceivable angle. Their bases are 
never far apart ; forming narrow valleys, here called 
wadys. The Bedouin always names the mountains after 
the wadys which surround them. They are not like our 
valleys, but rather resemble a dry, deep river-bed, from 
a hundred yards to a mile and more in breadth. Seem- 
ingly, they have been washed or worn out by mountain 
torrents, strewing their track sometimes with large 
rocks, and giving them a rough surface ; and these are 
again traversed by smaller water-courses. These crooked 
wadys are the highways of the wilderness — the only 
means of communication between the different sections 
of it. No tree or plant is seen on the mountains, save 
occasionally a stunted thorn in some secluded nook, 
where winter torrents have left disintegrated rocks. 
Here we wander between these rugged mountain walls, 



WILDERNESS OF SINAI. 



105 



which shut out every breeze, and whose bald surface in- 
tensifies the reflected rays of the sun, with no water save 
the tepid remains of what we brought from Cairo a week 
ago. Often we seem to come to the end of the road by 
running square up against a mountain ; but as often find 
a way out through some deep lateral gorge. Soon an- 
other blocks up our path. So we shift and shirk, like a 
ship steering against the wind by side courses. The 
mountains rise all around, shutting out every view but 
the lofty, lifeless peaks. One blessed look-out is left to 
the weary eye — up to the heavens. Here literally no- 
thing but heaven and hills can be seen. All the time 
we seem to be wandering and winding along in deep, 
dry river-beds, with jagged mountains for their banks. 
These banks resemble the tracks of water torrents. 

"He turneth rivers into a wilderness, 
And the water-springs into dry ground ; 
A fruitful land into barrenness, 
For the wickedness of them that dwell therein." 

Psalm 107 : 33. 

Here we were, hemmed in on every side, deep down 
between the high granite mountains, like the men who 
taunted Job : 

" In the clefts of the torrents to pitch their tents, 
In the caves of the earth and the rocks." 

Job 30 : 6. 

There is no book in the Bible whose imagery is so 
much taken from the stern scenery of this Arabian wil- 
derness as that of Job. As Bonar justly observes : 
"From the first chapter to the last, the book of Job is 
the book of the desert, as truly as Ecclesiastes is the 



106 



A BEDOUIN FIGHT. 



book of the palace, Proverbs the book of the city, Can- 
ticles the book of the garden, Romans the book of the 
forum, Hebrews the book of the altar, and the Apoca- 
lypse the book of the temple." 

The Bible reader mnst often wonder what weapons 
the Amalekites used when fighting with Joshua at Re- 
phidim. We know that the Egyptians had their war- 
chariots, and their monuments clearly describe their arms 
and armor. But down here among these untrained no- 
madic hordes of Sinai, we cannot- expect to find much 
beyond what nature furnishes — a shepherd's crook, and 
the stone and sling. A fierce little battle between two 
Bedouins gave me a faint idea how they might have man- 
aged their quarrels among themselves. The man to 
superintend the caravan went by the name of sheikh. 
In the morning, as was his custom, he assigned a portion 
of the baggage to each camel. The owner of one, think- 
ing that he piled on more than his share, flung it off 
again. The sheikh put it back again, which resulted in 
him being laid prostrate on the earth. Having regained 
his feet, they lustily set to boxing one another's ears. 
They thwacked away with fiendish scowl, but only with 
the palm of the hand, on the side of the head. It seems 
they have too much respect for the human face divine to 
disfigure it with the battering fist ; in which respect, they 
are in advance of more civilized people. A knife was 
drawn from the belt of one of them,. but no sooner drawn 
than dropped. The palm of the hand being rather an 
inefficient weapon, they changed their tactics by collar- 
ing each other — if such a word can be used where no 
collars are worn. By this time Ahmed discovered the 
affray, and commanded them to desist. Refusing to obey, 
he threw himself between the combatants, and wedged 



BEDOUIN ARMS. 



107 



them apart ; meanwhile showering a volley of fierce gut- 
turals upon them for disturbing the peace of the camp. 
Once separated, they seemed to be oblivious of the past, 
and chatted and laughed as friendly as ever. Among 
the tormentors of our Saviour, were some who " smote 
him with the- palms of their hands." John 18 : 22. The 
word in the original is sometimes translated "rods;" if 
the translation in our version be correct, it shows that 
then, as now, smiting with the palm of the hand was not 
unusual among combatants. 

In hunting, or when fighting with their enemies, the 
Arabs or Bedouins, who are at least the successors, if 
not the descendants, of Amalek, universally use the gun, 
both in hunting and war; in which respect they are 
greatly in advance of the ancient Amalekites. This is 
about the only noticeable instance in which they have 
departed from their primitive simplicity. In this region, 
almost every Bedouin is armed with this modern weapon. 
Whether you meet him alone, urging his camel over the 
solitary waste, or in a caravan, the gun slung across his 
back seems as natural as the turban on his head. And 
generally he is a good shot. His keen eagle eye, which 
peers into the distance with an almost preternatural 
vision, and espies the smallest speck on the remote hori- 
zon, and his steady arm, unimpaired by over-exertion, 
trained in the free, unhampered action of -nature, are 
calculated to make him an adept in the use of this 
weapon. 

Occasionally we passed retem-bushes — the same as the 
"juniper" under whose shade Elijah slept in his wan- 
derings. We afterwards met with them " a day's jour- 
ney " south of Beersheba, where the prophet found them. 
They are about as large as our elder-bushes, with white 



108 



INTENSE HEAT. 



blossoms and narrow leaves. In Psalm 120 : 4, we read 
of " coals of juniper." The Bedouins still burn this 
wood into charcoal. Job (30 : 4) says the famishing 
" eat up juniper roots for their meat ;" and many of the 
half-starved Bedouins still do the same. How grateful 
still their shade in this sultry, treeless region ! Often 
we crouched under their scanty branches at our noonday 
respite. 1 Kings 19 : 4. 

Again we found a few holes scooped out of the sand, 
containing bitter water; and afterwards a few rills, in 
a rough wady, which soon leaked under ground again ; 
but all bitter — fit only for camels and palm-trees, of 
which there were several near the water. 

The day (11th of March) was intensely hot. Long 
before noon, the ground under us, and the bald, high 
rocks, fencing in the narrow valleys through which we 
journeyed, were simmering with heat. The sultry atmo- 
sphere, warm water, and jogging, swinging camels, pro- 
duced depressing languor. In between these deep moun- 
tain cuts we wandered, through short valleys, ever chang- 
ing, now eastward, now westward, the only view beyond the 
red rocks being up to the blue sky. After turning nume- 
rous corners we finally emerged through a gorge-like cut 
from this bleak rock-prison upon the sea-shore. In sum- 
mer time any sea-breeze is refreshing, but nothing so well 
prepares one for its enjoyment as the confined hot air of 
the interminable Arabian wadys. The rugged mountains 
at some places dipped into the sea, and the tide just 
rising, here and there ebbed across our path. Scarcely 
had we encamped before a general rush was made for 
the sea, Bedouin, Theban, Ethiopian, and their paler 
masters, plunged promiscuously into the deep. A cool- 



WILDERNESS OF SIN. 



109 



ing, soothing lave it was. One almost felt as if the 
thirst were being quenched through the pores. 

The sunset over the hills of the opposite coast hung 
the heavens with gorgeous folds. High up the sky was 
flooded with a rich orange color ; heavy folds of lumi- 
nous clouds hung over the horizon, which reflected their 
golden drapery athwart the sea, giving it the appearance 
of a sea of molten gold, in reality a " Red Sea." 

We encamped on the sea-shore at the northern edge 
of a large promontory, in the wilderness of Sin, which 
the Bedouins call Murka, about twenty miles from Elim. 
It is a solitary, level, gravelly neck of land, jutting out 
from the peaky mountains into the sea, whose transverse 
diameters measure perhaps from three to five miles. 
Hither Moses led the children of Israel, when they 
"removed from Elim, and encamped at the Red Sea." 
Num. 33 : 10. Large as it is, this plain must have been 
densely crowded with the Hebrew encampment, a vast 
temporary tent-city, containing as many persons as the 
city of London. It is perfectly barren ; a few small 
thorn-trees are all it contains. 

Here, in the hush of the wilderness, with the sea on 
one side and frowning granite mountains on the other, 
our Bedouins entertained us with an Arabic drama in 
moonlight. It was a love-scene, fitted for the time and 
place. A little sprightly Bedouin, evidently susceptible 
of the sweet influence of the tender passion, personated 
the lady. His blanket around his head and person 
served as a veil. Half-a-dozen of the others acted suit- 
ors — sang and danced their love-ditties before him, with 
a variety of genuflexions. Their love-song consisted of 
detached verses, sung in two parts. The stanzas were 
arranged in two lines, the first sung by one voice, gene- 
10 



110 



A BEDOUIN DRAMA. 



rally the lady's, the second by the chorus of suitors, 
catching the strain in the middle of the first line. The 
suitors all stood in a line, accompanying their voices 
with the swinging of their bodies, now back and forward, 
then with a long sweep from right to left, clapping their 
hands in concert at every common bar or measure. If 
the Bedouin hath any " music in his soul," he has a poor 
way of letting it out. The variety of keys sung at the 
same time produced a discord that mocked all harmony, 
and laboriously straining them through their nasal organs, 
made it still more unmelodious. They kept pretty good 
time, the clapping of hands and swinging of their bodies 
being always simultaneous. As the play proceeded the 
excitement increased. When they grew weary they 
would sit down, swinging their love-burdens silently on. 
Then they would spring to their feet and renew their 
suit in song. At last their clapping grew quicker and 
shouts louder ; heated with bodily exertion, their blank- 
ets and turbans were thrown aside. Such unearthly 
heads on human shoulders ! The religious bump was 
contracted to a narrow top, on which a long, glossy 
braided tuft was left, which seemed to stand on end 
from wild emotion. The rest of the head was closely 
shaven. The wild impassionate style of the performance 
atoned for the discords of their song, for tuning-forks 
and music lessons have not yet found their way into the 
wilderness of Sinai, and it is doubtful whether they ever 
will. The kneeling camels and snow-white tents, the 
frowning lofty mountains around us, and the sea seen in 
the moonlight, the watchfire flickering its glare on the 
half-naked Bedouins, just enough to make their hideous 
heads and faces visible — all this formed a scene not 
easily forgotten. 



THE TIMBREL AND THE DANCE. Ill 



Generally the Mohammedans esteem dancing an un- 
dignified amusement, and therefore, according to their 
notions of the female sex, it is better suited for women. 
Hence men seldom dance. I one day met a marriage 
procession near an Egyptian village, preceded by a num- 
ber of dancing females, with timbrels or tamborines. 
Their dance simply consisted of a swinging walk, and 
their music was but a clattering noise, and their song a 
hideous screeching. At a royal feast at Cairo I saw this 
timbrel dance repeated. The violent inflections and dis- 
tortions of the body were indecorous, and the singing 
was like the filing of a saw. In both these cases they 
danced to their own music, each playing and dancing at 
the same time. On Egyptian monuments we find the 
timbrel, sometimes with the cymbal, used in connection 
with singing and dancing, showing that the present style 
was in vogue anciently. But the timbrel was always used 
by the women, and the flute by the men, as it is to this day. 
All that the Hebrews knew about dancing they learned 
from the Egyptians. Thus when they had crossed the 
Eed Sea, " Miriam, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel 
in her hand, and all the women went out after her with 
timbrels and with dances." When Jephthah returned to 
Mizpeh from battle, his daughter came out to meet him, 
" with timbrels and with dances." Judges 11 : 34. So, too, 
when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, 
women came from all cities, with tabrets, singing and 
dancing, to celebrate his praise (1 Sam. 18 : 6, 7) ; and at 
a still later period Herodias danced before Herod. All 
these cases show how the Hebrew dance continued to be 
mainly confined to females, with the use of the tabret 
and timbrel, as among the Egyptians to this day. Mi- 



112 



DANCING AS A RELIGIOUS ACT. 



chal even despised David fordoing what only was proper 
for females and " vain fellows." 2 Sam. 6 : 20. 

In nearly all the above cases dancing was an expres- 
sion of religious joy. The raving, frenzied dance of the 
dervishes among the Mohammedans is a continuation of 
a pagan rite. The Hebrews danced around the golden 
calf at Mount Sinai ; and this golden calf was the ox 
Apis, the most popular object of worship among the 
Egyptians, with whom dancing around the image formed 
part of their religious services. God allowed the He- 
brews to continue the dance in their later history, but 
. only as a religious act. In Psalms 149 and 150 God'? 
praise is spoken of in connection with the timbrel, the 
harp, and the dance. Its exercise indicated the opposite 
from sadness and mourning. In this sense there is " a 
time to mourn and a time to dance." "Our dance is 
turned into mourning." Lam. 5 : 15. 

The Bible argument for modern dancing can, there- 
fore, only apply to this exercise as a religions act. Those 
Christians whose religious joy and gratitude may seek 
expression in this form, have a scriptural precedent, if 
they choose to make merry in this way. I need not 
remark, however, that pious religious emotions have little 
to do with fashionable promiscuous dancing. As for the 
style of the Hebrew dance, it was very different from 
that of the modern. Doubtless it was such as is still 
found in the East, a clumsy, half-walking motion, wrig- 
gling the body into various attitudes. I noticed a small 
procession of Oriental Christians approaching Jerusalem, 
the foremost of whom danced for joy in this way. The 
friends of the dance may consider it a good fortune for 
their favorite amusement, that few attempt to justify it 
on scriptural grounds. Both the motive for and the 



"the valley of inscriptions." 113 



manner of dancing were different from those of more 
modern times ; and while we must admit that the art has 
gained much in point of gracefulness and ease, it has 
been shifted on to heathen ground. Who would expect 
praise and religious joy on a dancing floor ! In most 
cases the practice bears no slight resemblance to Baccha- 
nalian orgies. If we are to have anything in the Chris- 
tian Church to correspond to the Hebrew dance, it must 
be Church song, the music of the sanctuary, which far 
excels in sweetness the timbrel, tabret, and the dance. 

March 12th. — Early this morning we crossed the plain 
southward, and entered the mountain defiles again. The 
first, Wady Shelal, spread into a large basin, with a few 
trees. Then we wandered through a series of wadys, 
whose names I will not inflict upon the reader. Towards 
noon our path was suddenly blocked up. We climbed 
along a rugged footpath, around deep gorges and among 
loose rocks, where a single slip would have precipitated one 
into a fearful abyss. The narrow pass allowed only one 
camel to pass at a time, wirile the frowning cliffs hanging 
above seemed ready every moment to roll over them. 
Again we lunched in "the shadow of a great rock." 
The heat was intense, and our Nile water growing warmer 
every day ; and many a granite peak rose between us 
and fresh water. We encamped here, in a little crooked 
valley, lying deep down between rough red masses of 
rocks, called by the Bedouins Wady Mokatteb, and by 
travellers "the Valley of Inscriptions." It is nowhere 
more than half a mile wide, and in most places less. On 
the soft reddish sandstone, and the harder granite which 
bound both sides of this vale, are numerous inscriptions. 
They are such as Job speaks of, engraven with a pen of 
iron, and carved "in the rock." Job 19 : 24. Some con- 
10* H 



114 



MONUMENTAL ROCKS. 



sist of names written in an ancient tongue, which has 
hitherto baffled the skill of our greatest antiquarians to 
interpret. Then there are hieroglyphics — camels, horses, 
asses, and gazelles (the hart of the Bible). At one place 
is a man, attacked by a tiger and an elephant ; at another 
are two men engaged in mortal combat with sword and 
shield. The carving is rude and the figures are poorly 
drawn, such as almost any one unskilled in the art might 
draw with the loose stones that are lying about. 

Cosmas saw these stone inscriptions here 1200 years 
ago. Some are, no doubt, much older. Among the 
figures are numerous Greek and Roman crosses. The 
prettiest symbol I have ever met with anywhere, was a 
cross with an anchor hung to the cross-beam. Whoever 
the unknown pilgrim may have been, he knew where 
hangs our hope, " the anchor of the soul." The inscrip- 
tions which have been deciphered are simple and short. 
The few that are written in Greek do not even contain 
the name of the writer. Only the wish : "Pious pilgrim, 
remember me" In many cases they scratched but a 
simple cross on the rude rock, as a memorial of their 
faith in their crucified and exalted Redeemer. 

These inscriptions are found from the ground upward 
to the height of fifty and a hundred feet. Who put 
them there? Most probably pilgrims to Mount Sinai, 
some before the coming of Christ and some since. Long 
before the Christian era, "the Mount of God" was a 
shrine frequented by devout pilgrims. Amid the dis- 
heartening vicissitudes of the Hebrew people, with their 
idolatries and God-deserted altars, pious devotion sought 
communion with the Divine Being in the still solitude of 
Sinai, where the Almighty, in a previous age, deigned to 
speak with Moses. Just as Elijah fled from wickedness 



ANCIENT WAYMARKS. 



115 



and persecution to Horeb, so hosts of other Jews, from 
Egypt and elsewhere, sought comfort here. After the 
Messiah had come and finished his work, Christian pil- 
grims continued to resort to the Mount of God. Mo- 
katteb must have been a rendezvous for them, where they 
carved their hopes and yearnings on these unclecaying 
monuments of nature. 

It was near midnight as my companion and I were 
seated on one of these monumental rocks in Mokatteb. 
Our picturesque group of tents, camels, and Arabs, lay 
there in the soft light of the half-full moon, which clearly 
disclosed the rough outlines of the valley. Some one 
has said that he never felt more lonely than in the 
crowded streets of large cities. And the converse is 
true, that we often feel least alone in solitude. It was 
so here. Thousands of a kindred faith had come to and 
left this bleak vale, without tree or shrub to cheer its 
solitude. Like epitaphs on grave stones, their names 
and faith were deeply graven on these large tablets. 
Save by an occasional traveller, they remain unread and 
unknown, and their pious wish to be remembered is but 
rarely realized. Their homes and their tombs are un- 
known to mortals, but for thousands of years to come, 
as in thousands of years past, their marks may be read 
on the rocks, which they have graven with their own 
hands. Whatever their occupation or lot in life, they 
thus 

"Departing, left behind them 
Footprints in the sand of time. 
Footprints that perhaps another 
Travelling o'er life's solemn main, 
Some forlorn or shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing may take heart again." 



116 



MIRACLE OF THE QUAILS. 



There, in the depth and silence of the wilderness, with 
its dearth of bread and water, we sat on a lofty rock, 
longing for Canaan, far from the endearments and com- 
forts of home, and sang with hearts almost too full for 
song : 

"Guide me, Thou great Jehovah ! 
Pilgrim through this barren land, 
I am weak but Thou art mighty, 
Hold me with Thy powerful hand: 
Bread of heaven 
Feed me, till I want no more. 

"Open now the crystal fountain 

Whence the healing streams do flow; 
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar 

Lead me all my journey through ; 
Strong Deliverer 
Be Thou still my strength and shield. 

"When I tread the verge of Jordan 
Bid my anxious fears subside, 
Death of death ! and hell's Destruction ! 
Land me safe on Canaan's side ; 
Songs of praises 
I will ever give to Thee." 

We have now reached the region where the Manna 
commenced to fall. Pairs of gray quails, about the size 
of our partridges, ran over the steep rocks of Mokatteb, 
as we clambered over them in search of inscriptions. 
Not a grain of wheat grows in all this region to this 
day. A few quails remain, monuments of the great 
quail-miracle, which brought clouds of them hither from 
other regions. "And it came to pass, that at even the 
quails came up, and covered the camp ; and in the morn- 
ing, the dew lay round about the host." Ex. 16 : 13. 

The following day, we wandered on through these in- 



BEDOUIN SALUTATIONS. 



117 



terminable wadys. Hot and sultry, we again sought the 
shadow of a great rock to rest at noon. A few thorny 
shrubs and stunted palm trees, proclaimed our approach 
to Wady Feiran, the oasis of the peninsula of Sinai. 
Its narrow bed winds up ten or twelve miles from the 
Red Sea, through which, most probably, the Hebrews 
came hither from the Wilderness of Sin. For the first 
time since we had left Cairo, we found full-grown palms, 
waving their lofty plume-like tops most gracefully. Cross- 
ing a small hill, crowned with the ruins of a convent, we 
encamped amid a clump of palm trees. Our Bedouins 
were here welcomed home by a number of friends. 
Shaking hands, by simply touching the open palm, they 
embraced and kissed, some of them five times on either 
cheek, meanwhile muttering their "Salaam Aleikum " 
(peace be with thee). A few saluted by slightly and 
solemnly bumping foreheads. Some, at first sight, ran 
to embrace each other, just like the sons of Isaac. 
"Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on 
his neck and kissed him." Gen. 33 : 4. So too Laban 
and Jacob met. Gen. 29 : 13. These salutations of friends 
who meet on a journey, require considerable time. When 
our Saviour sent forth his seventy disciples, he wished 
them to lose no time in their urgent and pressing work, 
and hence he told them : " Salute no man by the way." 
Luke 10 : 4. Our men had been from home for weeks, 
and made a long and wearisome journey, yet their faces 
looked sullen and solemn as the grave. Not a smile 
could be seen as "they asked each other of their peace." 
A few rough, black tents were scattered about ; while 
some had piled up stones roofed with dry palm branches, 
for their dwelling. This greeting ceremony came right 
in place; for, somewhere in this region, Jethro, the father- 



118 



REPHIDIM. 



in-law of Moses, " came with his sons and his wife unto 
Moses in the wilderness." "And Moses went out to 
meet him (out of his tent), and did obeisance, and kissed 
him; and they asked each other of their welfare (or 
peace),, and they came into the tent." Ex. 18 : 7. In 
this dreary country, too, Aaron met Moses " in the 
mount of God, and kissed Mm" Ex. 4 : 27. 

The Bedouins again scooped wells out of the sand, to 
water the camels. Both the beast and its driver drank 
sparingly, but its bitterness was too much for my thirsty 
palate. This is Repkidim, where the Hebrews murmured 
the second time for water. Ex. 17. A word about this 
murmuring just here and now. When a benignant Father 
gives us running brooks and daily bread in abundance, 
we are often disposed to judge the famishing host of 
Moses very harshly for their turbulent complaints. To 
this day the wanderer travelling through here must bring 
his food with him. Even the Bedouin must bring his 
barley and rice from Cairo or Akaba. Our table, here 
at Rephidim, is almost sumptuously spread, but has 
nothing on it from the country through which we are 
travelling, except mutton, and now perhaps a few dates 
from the palm-trees around our tents. Occasionally we 
buy a sheep, then Mohammed soon extracts a quarter 
from the skin, and fits it for the table. Yesterday we 
had a fine turkey, but it was brought from Egypt. W e 
eat rice from India, oranges and figs from Smyrna, hams 
and potatoes and pickles from England, macaroni from 
Naples, dozens of puny oven-hatched chickens brought in 
a portable coop on a camel's back from Egypt, and bread 
which no one can eat, from Cairo. God be thanked, we 
could bring our manna with us, enough, and to spare. 
We brought water along too, — two large casks of filtered 



WANT OF WATER. 



119 



Nile water, when we started, good and fresh as any 
thirsty lips could desire. But we have now tried to use 
it for ten days, carried and shaken it over at least 150 
miles, under a sun almost hot enough to boil it. Daily 
it has grown worse. The mountain-sides everywhere 
show traces of water-torrents, and our path lies over 
river-beds. Dry water-courses mock our thirst every- 
where ; water in wells, water oozing through the sand, 
water in the large sea, 

" Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink." 

One is reminded of Tantalus, set up to the chin in 
water, which fled from his lips whenever he attempted to 
drink it. I almost envy the camels their palate, which 
can feast on such stuff. The crooked wadys shut out the 
air ; the bold rocks reflect and intensify the hot sun- 
rays ; the earth teems with heat; still we jog on through 
this oven-like atmosphere. Again and again I reach for 
the leathern bottle hung to my saddle, and as often put 
it back with half-impatient disappointment, for its water 
is impure. God forgive my ill-suppressed murmuring. 
Sometimes a faintish, dizzy feeling flits through my brain, 
the ground and the mountains begin to quiver. The 
shout of a Bedouin rouses me from a dreamish stupor, to 
a keener desire for water. for a cup of the cold w T ater 
at my father's door ! Barrels daily run through his 
meadow, with no one to taste or enjoy it. Here one can 
appreciate David's description of the good Shepherd. 
" He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He lead- 
eth me beside the still water." Ps. 23 : 2. 

So longed the poor Hebrews for water, shut up among 
these burning wadys, still more intolerably hot later in 
the season. Coming out of the Red Sea, they sought 



120 



SUFFERINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 



water at the wells of Moses, but it was bitter. They 
plod on for three long and weary days, and came to 
Marah, drooping and fainting with thirst. Again it is 
bitter. When one takes into the account the number of 
old and infirm persons there must have been among 
those two millions of Hebrews poorly fitted to endure the 
want of water ; the large number of children who would 
give free vent to their sufferings in cries, while their 
mothers, ready to sink, strove to keep up with the wan- 
dering host, and vainly tried to quiet their pitiful screams 
for water, is it surprising that among such a tumult of 
misery, their sorrow should murmur ? How joyful the 
rumored approach of water at Marah ! They rush for a 
taste, but ready to die for thirst, they yet cannot drink. 
Then coming to this place, the disappointment must have 
been equally painful. Afterwards they murmured again 
at Zion, which was no place of seed, or of figs, or of 
vines, or of pomegranates ; '"neither is there any water to 
drink." Num. 21 : 5. When we think of this vast multi- 
tude, shut up inextricably between mountain-barriers, cut 
off from all human means of subsistence, in this arid wil- 
derness, the ground radiant with parching heat, without 
water where they most need it, scattered for many miles 
over narrow, short valleys, some of them far from their 
leader, we can at least partly account for their murmuring 
remembrance of the Nile. It was cruel, and yet under 
the circumstances natural, to cry out to Moses : " Give 
us water that we may drink. Wherefore is this that 
thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our 
children and our cattle with thirst." Ex. 17 : 2, 3. Like 
this fountainless, pathless desert is the world without 
Christ. In the noon-tide of his glory " the desert shall 
rejoice and blossom as the rose." 



A PLEASANT VALLEY. 



121 



"For in the wilderness shall waters break out, 
And streams in the desert. 
And the parched ground shall become a pool, 
And the thirsty land springs of water. 

And a highway shall be there and a way, 
And it shall be called the way of holiness." 

Is. 35 : 6-7. 

"I will open rivers in high places 

And fountains in the midst of the valleys: 
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, 
And the dry land springs of water." 

Is. 41 : 18. 

In all this wilderness, wherever the water percolates 
through the saline sand and gravel, it is bitter, from 
which you turn away thirsty ; it is only fit to drink 
where it comes from the solid rock. Just as all virtue, 
goodness, and truth coming to us from fallible man are 
flavored with imperfection, but that which we derive 
from the " Rock of Ages " is sweet and refreshing unto 
eternal life. " Whosoever drinketh of this water shall 
thirst again : But whosoever drinketh of the water that 
I shall give him shall never thirst" John 4 : 13-14. 

The grove of palm and tamarisk gives "Wady Feiran 
almost the appearance of a cultivated valley. Our Lon- 
don friends encamped near us. The peaceful, shady val- 
ley soon was all astir with camels, poultry, and Bedouins. 
The chicken-coop discharged a stream of cackling anima- 
tion, and spread it around the tents. Now and then a 
new Bedouin came, solemnly embraced his friends, then 
gazed at the white-skinned strangers. Mr. S. brought a 
donkey from Cairo, which made the mountains ring with 
his screeching braying. At night the grove was lit up 
with three different watch-fires. Our Bedouins enter- 
11 



122 



ASCENT OF MOUNT SERBAL. 



tained their friends with coffee. Seated in a circle around 
the fire, one would make coffee, while the other handed 
it round in puny cups. Of course it was innocent of 
sugar and cream. While they were sipping others came, 
and muttering a sullen Salaam, took their seats in the 
circle. Their coffee done, they smoked their pipes, 
speaking but little. The luminous smoke curled up 
among the trees, while their blazing fire revealed their 
graceful tops, and cast a red glare on the dark frown- 
ing mountain-sides. A gentle wind kept up a rustling 
among the tree-tops. The night was very dark but clear, 
giving lustre to the millions of eyes that twinkled down 
from the star-spangled heavens. Some of the Bedouins 
disperse, others quietly cover their feet with a coarse 
blanket, and all that is left at midnight are a few rolled 
up, fast asleep. 

Early the first morning after reaching Feiran, we 
started to ascend Serbal, the highest mountain in this 
part of the wilderness (6759 feet). As we rode up a 
rough valley, full of loose blocks of stone, a solitary bird 
carolled its early lays, while the first rays of the rising 
sun gilded the lofty peaks. We rode about half an hour, 
and then continued our ascent afoot. At the base of a 
steep, rugged defile, called "the father of wild figs," 
from a wild fig-tree found here, we reached a small spring 
of water. Wild thyme, with pleasant aroma, grew around 
the stones ; but ere long, all signs of life ceased. We 
ascended through this rough torrent-bed, gorged with 
huge granite boulders. I had wandered over the Swiss 
mountains, not excepting the Rhigi and St. Bernard, and 
done many other wonderful things in such climbing ad- 
ventures ; but all was mere child's play, compared with 
this neck-breaking Serbal : now standing before a large 



MOUNTAIN BASINS. 



123 



rock, panting for breath, and wondering how to get on 
it, then clambering up its sides on all-fours ; over and 
around rocks, across deep gorges, and lengthwise along 
their steep sides ; toiling over loose, rolling stones, where 
one step gained was two lost ; creeping through clefts, 
up we toiled, as best we could, with short intervals of 
rest, for five consecutive hours. At one place we found 
a small quantity of snow beneath a rock, and a small 
piece of ice, two feet square. At another, toward the 
summit, was a basin or bowl in a rock, containing rain- 
water, most delicious. We poured away our tepid Nile 
water, and with devout gratitude refilled our bottles for 
the first time this side of Egypt. 

The mountain terminates in five peaks towards the 
summit. The largest one rose before us, a mountain in 
itself. Arrived at the top, we reclined on its broad back, 
which has been fitly likened to the back of a petrified tor- 
toise. Around us rose the peaks of Serbal, like prodigious 
stalagmites, covered with a variety of fantastic figures. 
' Immense sphinxes and unchiselled statues of men stand 
along these fearful heights ; large basins, scooped out of 
solid masses, and others, perforated with holes by some 
unknown agency. Large rock-drops linger on the sur- 
face, as if melted lava had been suddenly cooled in the 
act of trickling down over the hissing masses. I had to 
think of a huge cauldron of granite, boiling with intense 
tumult, when the large bubbles are suddenly cooled, 
forming rounded heads, eyes, and holes of almost every 
imaginable shape. 

Few travellers ascend Serbal. On the top, several 
stones were laid around a small phial, containing the 
names of a few persons who have visited the top during 
late years, to which we added our own. A cool breeze 



124 



VIEWS FROM MOUNT SERBAL. 



soon checked the perspiration produced by the ascent, 
and enabled us to enjoy the marvellous view that em- 
braced nearly the whole peninsula. Far below us the 
cliffy mountains rose out of their rock and sand beds, 
cutting and crossing each other at all angles and wind- 
ings. And the vast web of little valleys for once were 
disentangled, coursing and winding in every direction, 
presenting a mould like a raised map, revealing all the 
outlines and rude features of this extraordinary con- 
formation. .Some one has called the Sinaitic mountains 
" the Alps unclothed and very justly. From the Bhigi, 
you see a dozen silvery lakes in one direction, sleeping 
in the lap of a green paradise of villages and fields ; 
in another, a vast panorama of snow-clad mountains 
spreads out to view, embracing and sheltering green val- 
leys and smiling villages, But here no tree nor village 
greets the scene. Bald mountains, white, gray, green, 
brown, and streaked ; gray wadys, but no life in sight, 
save a small part of the one solitary palm-grove, down 
in Feiran ; the most perfect famine-inspiring scene of 
sterility that the mind of man can conceive. We saw 
the Bed Sea, with the Egyptian hills beyond, and Mount 
Tor, on this side ; the wilderness of Sin, Mount Sinai, 
and the wilderness of Tih (Zin). Our eyes rested on 
the whole scope of country in which the Hebrews wan- 
dered, murmured, and fell. 

"We found Zeddan, the Sheikh of Serbal, a reliable and 
pleasant guide, ready to impart what little information 
he possessed. Here, as elsewhere, were rock inscriptions 
again. Our descent required three hours, and was likewise 
very fatiguing. There was scarcely a rod of clear path 
to the base ; now sliding down over blocks, then walking 
over loose stones, rolling from beneath our feet, we 



EEPHIDIM AND MERIBAH. 



125 



wished for our camels long before we reached them. 
With sore feet, sore limbs, but cheerful hearts, we 
mounted where we had left them in the morning, and 
reached Feiran ready for a sound dinner. 

A month later, we met a lady on the steamer Samois, 
bound for Europe, whose husband, an English clergyman, 
ascended Serbal two weeks after we did. He took a 
blanket with him, and in spite of the remonstrances of 
others, remained all night on the summit, to get a sun- 
rise view. The physical exertion and night air brought 
on the Eastern fever. Their efforts to bring him to Jeru- 
salem, in the absence of medical attendance, only aggra- 
vated his disease. Away down in Beersheba, nine hours' 
journey from Hebron, he died ; leaving his sorrowing 
widow alone with her caravan in the wilderness. With 
difficulty she had him brought to Jerusalem, and buried 
in the Protestant burial-ground. 

Sunday, March 15th. — A Sabbath-day at Rephidim 
and Meribah ! Near where it was first said, " Remem- 
ber the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy"! Quietly and 
peacefully our snow-white tents reposed in the shady palm- 
grove, with the craggy mountains towering high above us 
in awful majesty. Near us is Convent Hill, on which 
Moses sat, and where Aaron and Hur held up his hands 
while Joshua slew Amalek. No matter ; any other of the 
many mountains around will answer, if this will not. 
Door-holes in the mountain-side lead to hermit-cells, 
whither, in past ages, many fled from the world, to live 
alone in penance and self-mortification. It was a day 
and place to enjoy the 17th chapter of Exodus. In this 
unique enclosure, deep between towering mountains, we 
worshipped and meditated, with Amalekites for our pro- 
tectors, where the Lord said he " will have war with 
11 



126 



MOSES AND THE AMALEK1TES. 



Amalek, from generation to generation." I could scarcely 
look at the mountains without thinking of the three per- 
sons who decided the fate of the battle. The story is so 
childlike and simple : — "And it came to pass, when 
Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed ; and when 
he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' 
hands were heavy ; and they took a stone, and put it 
under him, and he sat thereon. And Aaron and Hur 
stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the 
other on the other side ; and his hands were steady until 
the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited 
Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." Ex. 
17 : 11-16. 

Some would have Serbai be Mount Sinai. We asked 
Sheikh Zeddan, who says the Bedouins know nothing 
about Moses having been here. Several years before, 
Stanley asked him whether the Arabs worshipped on 
Serbai. He said : "Arabs never pray nor kill sheep on 
the top of Serbai ; sometimes, however, travellers eat 
chickens there ;" which he perhaps regarded as a kind 
of sacrificial offering. 

The rock formations in this region are various. Their 
colors readily reveal their quality — chalk, limestone, 
sandstone, and granite. Sometimes the transition from 
one to the other is very sudden — naught but a streak 
between two perfect formations. Within two days from 
Serbai, we passed hills like vast heaps of black cinders, 
and ruins of mountains calcined to ashes, not unlike 
the refuse of a foundry. Around Serbai the rocks are 
full of red and gray streaks, as if the igneous fluid had 
squirted upwards as they were heaved from the ground. 

The next day we struck our tents, and emerged from 
the palm-grove of Feiran. I will not take the reader 



THE MOUNT OF THE LAW. 



127 



over the whole list of unpronounceable wadys through 
which we had to wander. We took the nearest but most 
difficult road. In the middle of the afternoon, we dis- 
mounted at the foot of a dark mountain-pass, fearfully 
rugged. The tortuous, narrow footpath, at some places 
crept along between rocks where there was barely room 
for the camels 'to pull their burdens through. Large, 
blackish granite blocks hung frowningly over us, and 
beneath was a deep gorge, through which a wild moun- 
tain stream tumbled foamingly down its obstructed course. 
We threaded our way up this stone stairway, over a dis- 
tance of about three miles ; the poor camels literally 
climbing up the high steps, pressing their spongy feet on 
the rough surface, and straining under their loads, until 
their joints creaked and cracked. To make it still more 
dreary, a storm of rain and sleet overtook us just as we 
approached the end of the pass. The air had become 
keen and chilly. I shivered, rolled up in two coats, a 
cloak, and a burnouse. . Over such a rugged, cold, as- 
cending path, the spirit reaches the Mount of the Law, 
without a ray of cheering warmth and sunlight. 

Out of the pass we entered Wady Er-Rahah, where a 
number of black goat-hair tents were scattered along a 
hill-side. A few of their tenants ran out and hallooed 
after us, mingling their " Salaam Aleikum " with a re- 
quest to buy their mutton or give a bucksheesh. 

From the time we had reached the top of the pass, 
the cliffy, awful features of Sinai commenced to unfold 
to view. Without knowing what it was, both of us in- 
voluntarily exclaimed, "What an awful mountain that is !" 
We approached its bold breast through the broad valley, 
Er-Rahah, facing it; its front but half visible at first, 
but unfolding out of the mountain as we neared. A 



128 



CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. 



dense black cloud hung around the top, while the rugged, 
deeply-shaded base, with its furrows and fissures, stood 
out to view in all its rough - featured outlines, at once 
calling to mind the thunders and lightnings, the black 
cloud and the voice of a trumpet, and the smoke ascend- 
ing from the top, at the giving of the law. Ex. 19 : 16. 
With Stanley, I cannot imagine that any human being 
could pass up that plain, and not feel that he was enter- 
ing a place, above all others, suited for the most august of 
earthly spectacles. We had a very long and tiresome 
day. Night was coming on. Cold, tired, and gloomy, we 
alighted below the convent. Our caravan had fallen 
behind on account of rough roads ; so that the tents were 
not raised till an hour after night. We vainly labored 
for comfort by running about. When the bedding ar- 
rived, I soon found relief in a bale of blankets and com- 
forts. The monks of the convent urged us to lodge with 
them ; but love for tent-life led us to decline their prof- 
fered hospitality. The night continued cold, against 
which the frail walls of our curtain-house were a poor 
shelter. 

The next morning we repaired to the convent to pay 
our respects to the superior. After much impatient and 
irreverent shouting beneath a door in the wall, thirty 
feet above ground, a long-bearded monk suddenly thrust 
out his head, demanding the cause of our unsaintly noise. 
After telling him our errand, he left down a large heavy 
rope with a hook to it, to receive the letter we had brought 
from the Greek patriarch at Cairo. When I saw this 
at-a-holy-distance formality, I expected in a few moments 
to be dangling in mid-air, and submit to the process of 
being wound to the top with rope and windlass. But 
after it was read, a little old man with a flowing white 



A VENERABLE MONK. 



129 



beard, bade us -welcome from the door above, telling us 
that, as a special favor, we might enter through a small 
opening in the rear of the wall. Formerly, all had to 
enter through the upper door ; the rest were closed from 
fear of the Bedouins. The convent has the appearance 
of a fortress. A high strong wall encloses it, with tur- 
rets at the corners, affording a shelter against the rapa- 
city and plunder of their neighbors. We stooped through 
a low door, into damp basement chambers ; thence into 
the central court, up several stairways, along a winding 
latticed corridor, into a plain room containing a divan 
and a table, spread with a white cloth. After Ahmed 
had told the venerable superior what country we hailed 
from, he came limping into the room to receive us. The 
customary salutation having been performed, he told us 
how delighted he was to see us there. His long white 
beard and austere ascetic features gave him a venerable 
appearance. I own to a strong feeling of reverence in 
the presence of a prior of such patriarchal mien. I told 
him he enjoyed a rare privilege to live so near the Holy 
Mount. " Yes," he replied, with a shrug of the shoulder, 
" I should not like to live anywhere else. I am now an 
old man, seventy-eight years old. Six years ago I had 
my leg broken, and am still lame. It is best for me here, 
where I have now lived seventeen years." I felt sorry 
that his reply should diminish my respect for his saintly 
motives. Seated on the floor, or rather on the divan, 
which is but a few inches above it, he entertained us 
with dates, coffee, and arrak, (date-brandy), a mischiev- 
ous drug which even the abstemious monks allow them- 
selves to indulge in. I was sorry to hear that it even 
sometimes gets the better of our old friend, the superior. 
After this short interview, Ahmed employed a monV 

T 



130 



LEGEND OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 



and one of the Bedouins, who loiter around the convent, 
as guides, and we started for the top of Mount Sinai. 
We had not gone far when the path led over steps cut 
out of the rocks, winding upward through crags of 
granite. In half an hour we met with sprinklings of snow 
in the shade, and a small quantity of ice. While resting 
at a small rudely-constructed stone chapel, erected to 
the Virgin Mary, the monk told us its legend. 

u There was a time when the monks of the convent 
ran short of bread. The Arabs cut them off from Cairo, 
where they still have it brought from. Then they daily 
went on the Mount of God to pray for bread. Going up 
one day they met the Virgin with the child, where the 
chapel now stands. She asked them where they were 
going. ' On the mountain to pray for bread,' they re- 
plied. When they returned to the convent they found 
a thousand camel-loads of provision. In commemoration 
of this event they built her this chapel." The figures of 
these legends are not always reliable, for some travellers 
have forty camel-loads instead of a thousand. And, ac- 
cording to Robinson's version, it would appear even that 
fleas, and not famine, were the cause of distress. 

Higher up the path led through an arched doorway. 
Near this we had to pause for another little story. The 
monk pointed to a spot, and said that one of his order 
on his way to the top, stopped there and said: " If I am 
a good man, God will permit me to reach the sacred 
place ; if not, may I die here." And immediately he 
expired. 

Near the top, in a small plain, we came to another 
chapel over Elijah's cave. " He came thither unto a 
cave and lodged there." 1 Kings 19 : 9. I passed through 
two small apartments into a third. Near an altar was 



ELIJAH'S CAVE. 



131 



a small hole in a rock, barely large enough for me to 
creep into, and this is to be Elijah's cave. Before the 
chapel is a tall cypress tree, which the monk said his 
order had planted more than a hundred years. Near it 
is a well and tank ascribed to the prophet. And not 
far from here, the monk showed us a dinge in a rock, 
which he said was the impress of the camel's foot that 
carried Mohammed up on the Mount of God. Ahmed 
replied, with orthodox fervor: "That must have been a 
holy camel." 

We reached the summit just in two hours from the time 
we started, including the legends and delays at the chapels. 
The area on the top may be fifty or sixty feet square. 
A small chapel or church, half in ruins, and a small 
mosque, crown its summit, representing the two religions 
of the East on a spot which, in common, they hold 
sacred. The Moslem believes in most of the Old Testa- 
ment saints, especially the patriarchs and prophets, and 
the leaders of Israel. Mount Sinai and Mount Moriah 
he approaches with the profoundest awe, but shows little 
reverence for Calvary. Both temples on Sinai were dis- 
figured by time, and their walls by the daubing inscrip- 
tions of ambitious travellers. Though the view is not 
so grand and extensive as that from Mt. Serbal, it af- 
forded a new standpoint, and therefore a new aspect. 
Few wadys could be seen. The endless complication of 
twisted and tortuous mountains and peaks hid them. To 
what shall I liken this singular scene ? It is as if the 
sea were suddenly petrified during a storm, when all the 
waves are boiling and tumbling mountain high. It looks 
as if the mighty globe had been boiling over, jetting 
liquid rocks through winding fissures, rolling and cool- 
ing into all forms and colors, in some places running 



132 



THE HEBREW 



ENCAMPMENT. 



their bases together. If there is a place on our planet 
calculated to give one an idea of the awful results of 
Almighty power in full blast, this ought to be it. There 
is no life nor verdure in the whole picture, yet its novelty 
never tires. These towering piles of Creation's earliest 
convulsions, gigantic, undeciphered hieroglyphics of the 
Creator's pen, stand alone in the family of mountains. 
Their furrowed features point to forces of which the 
human mind, as yet, can form no adequate conception. 
Whether you wearily thread your way through laby- 
rinthine wadys, and amid huge cones of granite and plu- 
tonic cinders, or look at them from Serbal or Sinai, you 
can hardly resist the impression that you are in the very 
focus of creative power. 

Are we on the spot where the Law was given ? In 
vain we looked around for a plain or valley below, where 
" Israel camped before the mount." Subsequently, Rev. 
W. Arthur, from London, explored the wadys in the 
rear of the mountain. He told us at Beirout, that he 
found a valley well suited to this part of the mountain, 
about three miles long, and from three quarters to a .mile 
and a half wide ; and, as he thought, amply sufficient 
for the Hebrew encampment. Though little of this 
valley can be seen from the top, strange to say, the 
mountain is seen from it, far more grand and imposing 
than from Wady Er-Rahah. 

Whether this be the identical spot or not, the pure air 
and toil of climbing mountains, however sacred, creates 
a desire for food : and here, at a place toward which I 
had been accustomed to look from my distant home with 
almost adoring reverence, we soon were seated on the 
bare rock, each with fowl in hand, stripping off substan- 
tial food as best he could, d la Bedouin. The Arab had 



GIVING THE COMMANDMENTS. 13b 

brought a few pieces of charcoal along, which he kindled 
to make an extra cup of coffee — a beverage we had never 
before indulged in at lunch. Just there and then, a less 
sumptuous meal might have been more in place. The 
poor Bedouin's kind intentions excelled his knowledge of 
making coffee, a muddy juice, unsettled, unsugared, and 
uncreamed. To preserve the aroma, the Bedouins drink 
their coffee unclarified ; its chief excellence consisting in 
drinking the grounds. 

Descending to Elijah's cave, we crossed the basin, 
and ascended Sefsaf, one of the peaks fronting the plain 
through which we had approached the mountain the day 
before. Reaching a bluff, about half way up, which 
overlooked the plain, both the guides refused to go any 
further. We continued a short distance further up the 
steep rock-strewn side, when they begged us to stop, as 
a higher ascent could only be made at the greatest peril. 
But taking this as a Bedouin exaggeration, we pushed 
upward ; the guides followed ; but Ahmed's courage or 
legs failed him. We rested on a rock-platform a few 
hundred feet from the summit. The monk and Arab 
declared that no mortal had ever been on the top, that 
we could not go up there and live. Methought most 
likely that the plain facing this side of the mountain, 
was the only one in which Israel could have encamped. 
If so, the awful ceremony of giving the ten command- 
ments, between the Almighty and Moses, may have 
taken place on this rock. I shall never visit the moun- 
tain again. One more effort and we are on the top. 
Now or never, so far as standing on the Holy Mount is 
concerned. It seemed safe at least to attempt it. The 
rest refusing to go any further, I told them to wait for 
me till I should make the attempt. Crossing a cut in 
12 



134 



A PERILOUS SITUATION. 



the rock, I approached a large granite mass, round and 
sloping, without any hold for climbing. My torn shoes 
would not be likely to slip on such a surface. Soon the 
rock became steep like the sides of a large bakeoven. 
I used all fours, but had nothing for the hands to hold 
on to. My feet commenced slipping, and I tried to turn 
around to descend, but found that I could not turn with- 
out the risk of falling over a precipice, hundreds of feet 
deep. I felt myself gradually sliding downward. Provi- 
dentially, I discovered a small fissure in the round rock 
into which I clinched the end of my fingers ; there, on 
those awful heights I hung, trembling in a balance be- 
tween life and death, while every nerve seemed to quiver 
with exertion. For a moment, I knew not which way I 
was going. A sudden jerk of the arms regained my 
equilibrium, and I clambered hastily to the top. 

Mr. M , seeing my success, but not its peril, fol- 
lowed. Midway up, he suddenly got the cramp and 
cried for help. The frightened Arab ran to his relief, 
and I, perhaps no less frightened, came from the top, 
and thus we pulled and pushed him up as best we could. 
This threw us into a tremor, ill-fitted to enjoy the pros- 
pect. My first great concern was how to get my help- 
less friend down the mountain. The whole plain of Er- 
Rahah spread out below us, the only considerable valley 
near the mountain which would suit for the Hebrew en- 
campment. From here, Moses could see over the whole 
camp, except that part immediately at the base, where 
Aaron put up the golden calf. And the -Hebrews could 
see the grand, terrific ceremony on the top, " thunders 
and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and 
the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud;" " and mount 
Sinai altogether in a smoke." Ex. 19. Out of this, 



THE SMITTEN ROCK. 



135 



the rock-stool on which we stood, rose up abruptly from 
five hundred to a thousand feet. One single step seemed 
sufficient to carry us to the base. I could not look down 
without a shudder, and a strange, awful feeling of un- 
easiness led us soon to descend. The Arab and myself 
held on to my friend's extremities, and so helped him 
safely down. The monk met us at the foot of the round 
top, and, crossing his breast, grasped our hands and mut- 
tered a prayer of thanks for our deliverance. Then 
only I saw the awful precipice over which I had been 
suspended at fingers' end. How we thanked our Father 
that day for this merciful deliverance from danger ! I 
know not whether Moses or anybody else has ever been 
on the same peak ; but we solemnly concluded, there and 
then, never to venture rashly upon such untried and un- 
known heights again. To save time, we descended 
over a more direct course, down a steep, rugged ravine, 
opposite our tents. But what we saved in time we had 
to make up in labor ; climbing and sliding down through 
gorges and over high rocks, not unlike our Serbal tribu- 
lations. 

The following morning we made an excursion to the 
valley of Leja, immediately south of Mount Sinai. A 
running brook of sweet water gives a pleasant contrast 
to its otherwise wild and rugged aspect. A large de- 
tached mass, from ten to fifteen feet high, has for many 
centuries been regarded as the "rock" which Moses 
smote for water, and this brook has been running ever 
since. It is the only stream in all this region, where pro- 
bably the people got water to "wash their clothes," in 
preparation for the holy interview between God and Moses 
on the mount. Ex. 19 : 10, 14. It being so near the 
mountain, I could easily believe that after Aaron had 



136 BURNING OP THE GOLDEN CALF. 



ground the golden calf to powder, he here " strewed it 
upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of 
it." It would puzzle some of our modern chemists to burn 
up gold in fire, and grind it to powder. That Moses did 
it, only furnishes another proof of the extent of his 
learning " in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Acts 7 : 22. 

We are told that " Moses took the calf which they had 
made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, 
and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of 
Israel drink of it." Ex. 32 : 20. It is well known that to 
burn gold and reduce it to powder is not an easy matter. 
An eminent French chemist explains it thus : " In the 
place of tartaric acid, which we employ, Moses used 
natron, which is common in the East. What follows, 
respecting his making the Israelites drink this powder, 
proves that he was perfectly acquainted with the whole 
effect of the operation. He wished to increase the 
punishment of their disobedience, and nothing could 
have been more suitable ; for, gold reduced and made 
into a draught, in the manner I have mentioned, has a 
most nauseous taste." 

In front of the mountain-peaks facing the broad plain, 
is a small hill, looking almost as if the hand of man had 
made it. " The Hill of Aaron " it has been called for 
ages, on whose summit the golden calf was worshipped. 
It cannot be seen from the top, nor from any of the tor- 
rent-beds through which we ascended and descended. 
In this respect it answers well to the narrative. Moses 
and Joshua heard "the noise," but saw not the cause of 
the tumult until they " came nigh unto the camp." 

Viewed from a Christian stand-point, the obstinate, 
fool-hardy idolatry of the Hebrews, in the face of the 
awful wonders wrought in their behalf, is almost incre- 



IDOLATRY OF THE HEBREWS. 



137 



dible. But four centuries of servitude had made them a 
nation of slaves. Doubtless few of those idolaters at 
Sinai had ever seen a Hebrew service before the Exodus. 
The principal god of the Egyptians was the bull Apis, 
especially worshipped at Memphis. In the absence of 
priests, altars, and scriptures of their own religion, can 
we wonder much that they were partly heathenized in 
Egypt ? This accounts for their tumults, mutinies, and 
murmurings on the way. It is not a very easy or com- 
mon thing that "a nation is born at once," nor in a 
year either ; born from lawless, unconncling, abject slaves 
to obedient, peaceful followers of Moses. Every trial 
excites a tumult, and when their leader is out of sight 
they must have the Egyptian god. " Up, make us gods 
which shall go before us : for, as for this Moses, the 
man that brought us up out of Egypt, we wot not what 
is become of him." So deeply had they imbibed this 
love for the religion of their oppressors, that it fol- 
lowed the nation for centuries. Even Jeroboam sought 
refuge in it when he had separated from Judah. 1 Kings 
12 : 28. 

In the afternoon we again visited the convent. The 
superior received us pleasantly, and was even more com- 
municative than on the preceding day. Seated Turkish, or 
tailor-fashion, in the plain reception-room, he entertained 
us with, coffee. The monks led us to the several apart- 
ments of the convent. The church is ornamented with 
ancient fresco, some richly gilded. Gold stars are 
wrought into the blue sky-like basis in the ceiling. Silver 
lamps hang over the altar. The floor is paved with 
marble of different colors. It dates from the time of 
Justinian, at least 1200 years back. At the door of a 
small chapel back of the altar, our guide told us, in the 
12* 



138 



CONVENT LIFE AT SINAI. 



words which God used to Moses here : " Put off thy shoes 
from off thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest 
is holy ground." Ex. 3:5. In a recess of the wall is a 
silver slab, and over it a small altar, covering the spot 
where stood the burning bush of Moses, now looked upon 
as the most holy place in the whole peninsula. Besides 
these there are some twenty other chapels in the convent, 
and also a small Mohammedan mosque, able to contain 
about 200 worshippers. The last is no longer used. It 
only remains as a monument of the trials and policy of 
former tenants of the convent, who submitted to its 
erection to conciliate their Moslem foes. The library is 
in a small room. The monks say it contains 6000 or 
7000 volumes. I think Robinson's estimate of 1500 
volumes is nearer the truth. They also said they had 
a Bible which Theodosius transcribed. The books are 
mostly in Greek, and are evidently very little used. 

We were led along winding corridors or balconies, 
across small courts, through dark passages, up and down 
stairways ; along some of these the monks lived. Their 
little gloomy cells opened on the corridors. A mat and 
rug, spread upon a raised part of the floor for a bed, 
compose all their furniture. The frowning Sinai above 
them, with its holy awful memories ; a little green spot 
in the garden, consisting of a few trees and plants ; 
close by piles of their dead brethren unburied, heaps of 
human bones, — a grim and ghastly charnel-house, — 
these are the objects on which their eyes rest evermore, 
stirring up stern and sober reflections. We did not visit 
the chamber of Death. " It is situated near the middle 
of the garden. The building is half subterranean, con- 
sisting of two rooms or vaults, one containing the bones 
of priests and the other those of lay-monks. The dead 



A CHAMBER OF DEATH. 



139 



bodies are first laid for two or three years on iron grates 
in another vault ; and then the skeletons are broken up, 
and removed to these chambers. Here the bones are 
laid together in regular piles, the arms in one, the legs 
in another, the ribs in a third, etc. The bones of priests 
and laymen are piled separately in the different vaults ; 
except the skulls, which are thrown promiscuously to- 
gether. The bones of archbishops, whose bodies are 
always brought hither with their clothing and property 
after death, are kept separately in small wooden boxes. 
The skeleton of one saint was pointed out to us ; and also 
those of two ascetics, who are said to have lived as her- 
mits in the adjacent mountain, wearing shirts of mail 
next the body, and binding themselves together by the 
leg with an iron chain, parts of which are here preserved. 
This is emphatically the house of Death, where he has 
now sat enthroned for centuries, receiving every year 
new victims, until the chambers are nearly filled up with 
this assembly of the dead. It must be a solemn feeling, 
one would think, with which the monks repair to this 
spot, and look upon these relics of mortality, — their pre- 
decessors, their brethren, their daily companions, all 
present here before them in their last earthly shape of 
ghastliness ; with whom, too, their own bones must so 
soon in like manner be mingled piecemeal, and be gazed 
upon perhaps like them by strangers from a distant 
world. I know of no place where the living and the dead 
come in closer contact with each other; or where the 
dread summons to prepare for death rises with a stronger 
power before the mind." 

The convent belongs to the Greek Church. It has 
had to pass through many vicissitudes since its origin. 
These children of Amalek have often assailed the monks 



140 



MONKS OF SINAI. 



with brutal cruelty. Their strongly fortified walls 
shield them in part ; then they have clans of Arabs to 
protect them, and in return they supply them with bread. 
Some of these were loitering about the convent at the 
time, receiving daily two loaves apiece. The monks said 
that about 1000 of these were at present kept in bread 
by them. 

The convent has a large gate, which has been walled 
up a hundred years. Since that time no Archbishop 
has resided here. It is said, that on his accession 
this gate must be thrown open for six months; during 
which the Arabs are at liberty to eat and drink as much 
as they please. To avoid the expense of such greedy 
tribes of boarders, the Archbishop lives elsewhere, and 
the gate is kept closed. Five hundred years ago there 
were 400 monks in the convent ; we found but twenty. 
Excepting the superior, they are as plump and well-to-do 
looking set of monks as I have seen anywhere. Their 
sluggish indolent habits show little of that abstemious 
austerity of life found in many other convents. They 
seem healthy and strong, and certainly look none the 
worse for their fasting. Their physiognomies indicate 
a negative harmless character, with little of earnest posi- 
tive grace and grit. They eat no flesh, and drink no 
wine, but drink date-brandy, which is worse. Some of 
them live to a very great age. Every morning at seven 
they have mass ; on Saturday they have it twice ; and 
during fasting seasons still oftener. How they put in 
the rest of their time, without reading and manual labor, 
I cannot tell. Some must cook and bake, but they have 
a short and easy method of doing this. A few mechani- 
cal implements were lying about the premises, but evi- 
dently little used. The severest part of their secluded 



ARAB CIVILIZATION. 



141 



life must be the slow dull drag of vacant hours and 
days — an ever-recurring insipid monotony ; in their case, 
I fear, not even much relieved by those acts of penance, 
compunction, and prayer, usual with recluses. 

It is remarkable how impervious these Sinaitic Bedouins 
have hitherto been to civilization and Christianity. In 
their domestic -and social habits they are as perfectly 
patriarchal as the age of Abraham ; in fact they are a 
specimen of that period transferred to the nineteenth 
century. But a few hundred miles from Egypt and the 
Mediterranean, and with the great Anglo-Indian tho- 
roughfare along their border and in sight of some of 
their encampments, they are as free from modern cus- 
toms as if they were inhabitants of another planet. They 
can never conceal their astonishment at seeing persons 
sitting on chairs instead of the bare earth, and eating at 
tables by means of knives and forks instead of having all 
they eat in one large bowl on the table which nature has 
made, and extricating their several portions with their 
own hands as best they can. Ineffectual efforts have 
been made to Christianize them. The convent at Mount 
Sinai has been amongst them for over a thousand years, 
and they are as hopelessly sunken in heathenism as 
when it was first built by Justinian. Professing the 
Mohammedan faith, they are without mosques and priests, 
are rarely seen to pray but at the tombs of their so- 
called saints, though they irreverently and often pro- 
fanely appeal to Allah (God) in conversation. 

A certain business shrewdness they possess, though 
most of them are as innocent of mathematics as a parrot. 
Some have no idea at all of figures. They will tell you 
it is five miles, and twenty miles, to a certain place, 



142 MONET OF THE BEDOUINS. 



almost in the same breath. They are passionately fond 
of money, and hoard it np no one knows -where. They 
can hardly look at. a traveller without crying "back- 
sheesh." Turkish and French money is mostly used 
among them. Without banks or stores, or any chances 
to invest money but in a few camels and goats, they must 
either bury or hide it. Their expenses are very trifling. 
The nearest possible approach to primitive nature is the 
cheapest mode of life. All the garments of a Bedouin, 
including his girdle and turban, cannot cost more than 
fifty cents or a dollar. And as they are not worn much 
by washing, they can use them for a long time. Their 
principal coat, toga, shirt, or whatever it may be called, 
is made of coarse unbleached muslin. Invariably this 
has an inside breast-pocket, in which they carry their 
money and presents. To this custom the Bible alludes 
in Isaiah 65 : 6, and especially our Saviour in Luke 6 : 38. 
To avoid sun-strokes the Bedouins, like most persons in 
the East, wear a turban — a thick twisted cloth coiled 
around the head ; and I noticed that they never slept 
in moonlight without pulling their coarse blankets over 
the head, to shelter them against the equally dangerous 
effects of the moon. The same sun and moon shone here 
when the Psalmist wrote : " The sun shall not smite thee 
by day, nor the moon by night." Psalm 121 : 6. 

The Bedouins have a coarse outer garment, which they 
usually take with them on their journeys, for a covering 
by night, and a protection during cold and storm. Most 
of these are all in one piece, without a seam or stitch, only 
two holes through which they thrust the arms. Such a 
one Christ wore, " a coat without seam, woven from the 
top to the bottom." John 19 : 23. When he wanted to 



Christ's coat. 



143 



wnsh his disciples' feet he "laid aside his garments;" 
doubtless his blanket-cloak. At his triumphal entry into 
Jerusalem, " the multitude spread their garments in the 
way;" " Bartimeus cast away his garment ;" and the dis- 
ciples " cast their garments on the colt" which they 
brought to Christ. These, and many other kindred 
allusions, find illustrations in the unsewn blanket of the 
modern Bedouin. 



144 



PLAIN OF ER-RAHAH. 



CHAPTER VII. 

/rnm 3finunt limit in <&fnu-§ibu. 

As our further journey took us beyond the limits of 
the Sinai tribe, we were here obliged to hire a new set 
of men and camels from the tribe through whose terri- 
tory we intended to travel. Their tardy arrival gave us 
an additional day. We strolled around the foot of the 
mountain, and over the plain of Er-Rahah, on which; it is 
supposed, the Hebrews were encamped during the giving 
of the Law. It is about half a mile wide, and two miles 
long. But even this, large as it is for this region, would 
not furnish room for the whole multitude. Besides this, 
however, there are smaller valleys around the mountain, 
in which many may have encamped. 

Most probably Mount Sinai means this group of moun- 
tain-peaks resting on a common base. Possibly one of 
the two peaks on which I had'stood was the stage of that 
awful transaction between God and Moses. But seeing 
half a dozen others grouped around them, whose claims 
might be urged with equal plausibility, I could not feel 
absolutely certain with respect to any one of them. 
Robinson's Sinai is only one of a number of peaks ; and 
so is the traditional one. It would have afforded a plea- 
sant reverie to sit down on one of these, fully convinced 
of their identity, as many had done before us, and give 
oneself up to the impressions of the awful scene. But 



MEMORIES OF SINAI. 



145 



after very long and balancing arguments on the spot, I 
felt that nothing short of inspired certitude could fix on 
the identical top. There can be little doubt to an im- 
partial mind, however, that this group of mountains, cir- 
cling around Horeb, with this remarkable plain before 
them, unlike any other that we saw in the peninsula, 
answers most completely to the narrative. The full grand 
view we had from the plain, on the last day, with our 
Bibles in hand, only confirmed this conviction. 

Its base clearly shows that it is a "mount that might 
be touched;" and therefore Moses had to "set bounds 
about it" to prevent the people from breaking through 
into the holy scene. I could believe with the credulity 
of a child, and the whole ceremony was before my vision 
like a vivid reality. " There were thunders and light- 
nings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice 
of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people 
that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought 
forth the people out of the camp to meet with God ; and 
they stood at the nether part of the mount. And 
Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the 
Lord descended upon it in fire : and the smoke thereof 
ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole 
mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the 
trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, 
Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And 
the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of 
the mount : and the Lord called Moses up to the top of 
the mount ; and Moses went up." Ex. 19. All this I 
could locate and picture to myself with almost the vivid- 
ness of the actual scene. 

Nowhere can there be found a more appropriate 
"footstool" for the Lawgiver. Every line and feature 



146 



THE STATUE OF MOSES. 



of the picture reminds one of stern, resistless laws. 
Steep, rough crags, frowning cliffs, granite boulders, and 
mountain base, have here stood and defied the elements 
since the infancy of Time, and still defy. While at 
Rome I often gazed with mute wonder at Angelo's fa- 
mous statue of Moses, and vainly strove to learn why 
he should represent the meekest of men with such a 
stern frown and defying features. Sitting before Mount 
Sinai, I had a glimpse of the artist's vision, and an elo- 
quent eulogy on his genius. Everywhere you encounter 
the symbols of inflexible Law, which say: " Obey, or die." 
The naked, life - deserted majesty which awes one at 
every step, confused bluffs and bold rock-billows, tang- 
ling and rolling into each other, as if the Almighty had 
held his arm over the sea, when in the full dash and 
turmoil of a storm, and bade the waves stand suddenly 
still in huge rock and granite forms ; all these stamp the 
mind with the image of a terrific Law. After wander- 
ing through the wilderness of Sin, and looking down 
from Serbal into the labyrinths of ridges and ravines, 
and then quietly strolling around Sinai, one is m a fit 
mood to read and feel the force of the Commandments, 
and can hear "Moses speak, and God answer him with 
a voice," more impressively than anywhere else. 

The hush of the grave reigns here. Two or three 
millions of human beings, young and old, great and 
small, must have filled the valleys with the hum and roll- 
ing reverberations of strange sounds. The sepulchral 
silence, and a singular peculiarity of the atmosphere, 
enable one to hear sounds at a great distance. The 
Bedouins say a strange noise is sometimes heard, which 
they think proceeds from the bells of a convent in the 
interior of the mountain. It is said, originally the 



THE SILENCE OF SINAI. 



147 



monks lived on the top of the mount, but were driven 
down by these strange sounds. The falling of rocks, or 
the rolling of sand down the mountain side, and even 
the sound of human voices, may partly account for these 
strange stories. But what a fearful shower of claps 
that "thunder" must have produced in a region where 
every report multiplies and creates many others as it 
rolls around bluffs and through rugged gorges ! And while 
this cracks away into the distance, not half expended, 
another and another drops in fresh explosion, and rolls 
its progeny around the mountain. Then, too, how these 
and other mountains of the wilderness must have rung 
as the vast encampment broke up at every station, with 
the shout: "Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be 
scattered; and let them that hate Thee flee before 
Thee." And in the evening, when the high rocks cast 
their shadows athwart the valleys, they encamped with 
the shout : " Return, Lord, unto the many thousands 
of Israel." Num. 10 : 35-36. 

No sound of bug or singing bird is heard. Not one 
did I hear during our three days at the mount. Mute 
bugs and birds of prey are here. Vultures and eagles 
are occasionally seen perched on rocky heights, or soar- 
ing over them. But no lowing of herds nor bleating of 
sheep is heard. The goats of the Bedouins are a quiet 
animal. No rustling leaves, nor the shouting play and 
prattle of childhood. The region is deserted by every 
note in Life's melody. The only cheerful sound is the 
faint murmuring of the brook Moses brought from the 
Rock. It is like the desolation and silence of a ruined 
cathedral, whose porches, columns, aisles, and altars still 
remain ; but the tuneless pipes of the organ have been 
hushed, without a living hand even to evoke jarring dis- 



148 



"shittim" wood. 



cord. The living, praising hearts and voices have been 
hushed in death, and the tall arches ring with the spec- 
tral sounds of strange echoes. 

What few trees are found here are mostly acacia, 
which the Arabs call "sont," the same as the Burning 
Bush. Very little different from this is the "sayal," or 
ancient "shittah," of which the ark and altar were 
built. It is a species of thorn, the size of a large peach 
tree, and sometimes even larger. They have few leaves, 
and have almost the appearance of dead trees. How 
remarkable that the very trees from which God com- 
manded them to get "shittim wood'"' for the sacred 
structures, should have perpetuated themselves for more 
than 3000 years in this sterile region — the living monu- 
ments of the only historic drama that was ever acted in 
this marvellous region ! This, moreover, is the only solid 
strong wood found here. The small "juniper" of Elijah, 
is more like our willow, too soft and pulpy for building 
purposes. Hence they only could use "shittim wood." 

The black, goatskin tents of the Bedouins around 
here are like "the tents of Kedar," of which Solomon 
sings. They live chiefly from their goats and camel?. 
Their cares and wants are few. Two black-veiled Arab 
girls led a few goats along the high slope of the moun- 
tain, in quest of straggling, aromatic shrubs and grass, 
like the daughters of Jethro, whom Moses met here. 
Ex. 2 : 16. 

We need not wonder that the wilderness of Sinai 
should have been peopled by persons who fled the haunts 
of men. While Egypt was the parent of monasticism, 
and its burning deserts suitable fields for its self-deny- 
ing practice, the rock-fields of Sinai offered shelter and 
seclusion equally adapted for such objects. According 



THE REFUGE OF HOREB. 



149 



to Burckhardt, there was a time "when six thousand 
monks abode around Mount Sinai. The cells of Feiran, 
and the numerous inscriptions of Mokatteb, point to a 
period when there must have been quite a settlement of 
hermits at Kephidim. 

The Bible tells us of two pilgrims who sought peace 
and retirement at Horeb or Sinai, both fugitives from 
wicked rulers, earnest mighty souls. Moses slew an 
Egyptian tyrant, then sought refuge from the avenging 
cruelty of Pharaoh in the Wilderness of Sinai. While 
lingering in this solitude, God appeared to him in 
Horeb, and sent him back to deliver his brethren. Ex. 
3 : 1. 

Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah. Then "he arose 
and went for his life" through " Beer-sheba" "into the 
wilderness," and came to "Horeb the mount of God." 
Then, as now, the shade was scarce here ; "he sat down 
under a juniper tree," a small bush, not unlike our elder, 
whose grateful, though scanty shade we often courted 
here. He too received a divine message to return on a 
fresh errand for the Almighty : by the way, a very 
strong argument that God does not wish us to flee dan- 
ger, but to conquer it. Both had to return from their 
solitude to their work in the bad and busy world. 1 
Kings 19. 

Paul, in describing his conversion to the Galatians, 
says : "I went into Arabia." Gal. 1 : 17. He had not 
enjoyed the immediate tuition of Christ, as the other 
apostles had ; and therefore he retires into solitude for a 
season, to prepare for his office, by studying the law, 
meditation and prayer. To what part of Arabia he went 
we are not informed. Mount Sinai then was a shrine 
frequently visited by zealous Jews, such as Paul had 
13* 



150 



PAUL AT SINAI. 



been. In the fourth chapter he speaks of the two cove- 
nants ; " The one from the Mount Sinai which gendereth 
to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount 
Sinai in Arabia." There is at least some ground for the 
inference that Paul too may have been a pilgrim to Sinai, 
and from here " returned again to Damascus," as Elijah 
had done before him. 

March 20th. — How thankful we felt for this visit to 
the Mount of God, and thankful, too, when the hour of 
departure arrived ! One unaccustomed to its dreary, stern 
desolation, will find in a few days that it gendereth a 
sense of unrest. There is an unsatisfying pleasure in 
pitching one's tent long near " the Mount that can be 
touched, that burned with fire," amid "blackness, dark- 
ness, and tempest." With light hearts we turned our 
faces from Sinai towards Zion. Ahmed had employed 
a certain number of Bedouins and camels. But as the 
"hard times" in the wilderness seldom gave them a 
chance to earn money, they flocked in until our caravan 
promised to become rather a large and expensive affair. 
The Bedouins have their own way of doing things. Bid- 
den or unbidden, they invited thenjselves to the feast. 
There was great scrambling and grabbing for loading ; 
once a good pile of this is on a camel's back, his Arab 
master considers himself employed. But there was not 
enough for all, and so two held on to the same piece, 
pulling in different directions, their faces twisted into a 
grin of vengeance, screaming and hallooing furiously. 
Then comes a third claimant to settle the dispute, as the 
monkey did with the cheese. The noise, and clamoring 
rage of the Arabs presented a scene of the most savage 
confusion. The few Turkish soldiers placed here to pre- 
serve peace and protect travellers, only increased the 



TOMB OF AN ARAB SAINT. 



151 



riot. Finally, Ahmed took the law into his own hands, 
administering summary justice with his stick, and restored 
the peace of the camp. Again and again I looked back 
for the last time on Horeb as we rode off through "W^dy 
Sheikh, until the last bluff disappeared behind the end 
of a ridge. A n nour ^er we came to a small mosque 
with a white conical roof, containing the tomb of Sheikh 
Saleh, an Arab saint. A few grave-stones are scattered 
around it, where the Towara Arabs bury their dead. 
They say the saint had been a companion of Moses and 
Mohammed, and that he died while on a journey with 
the Prophet through here. In their ignorance of sacred 
history, they regard Noah, Moses, Christ, and Mohammed 
as having lived at the same time. His wooden coffin is 
supposed to be above the grave. This was covered with 
a white cloth, and rags and tattered shawls were hung 
on sticks placed around it. One of the Arabs asked for 
money to pay for the lights kept burning here day and 
night, which he tied in one corner of the covering. Much 
as they love money, none would touch this, though it 
remain here for a long time. They approach the tomb 
with reverence, and some say their prayers there. 

We had now entered a broader valley, named after 
this saint. Shepherd girls, climbing after their flocks, 
showed that a Bedouin encampment was near. At noon 
we were obliged to lunch on the hot, unshaded sand. The 
next day we met with many shittim trees, some as large 
as a medium-sized apple tree. Feeling weary, I dis- 
mounted and walked several miles ahead in quest of 
shade, to rest while the others would bring up the cara- 
van. Coming to a fork of the narrow valley, the path 
disappeared. After reclining here and reading awhile, 
the thought occurred to me that possibly I might have 



152 



DESERT SAND-RIVERS. 



strayed off the track altogether. To be lost in this endless 
confusion of mountain gorges, exposed to the rapacious 
cruelty of the Arabs, without bread, water, or the lan- 
guage to ask for it, would be no ordinary calamity. 
While musing over my melancholy situation in such an 
event, repeated shouts, but faintly heard, revealed my 
Arab with his camel in the distance, throwing up his 
hands and crying, " Howaje, howaje ! " I made haste to 
meet him, and soon found that my surmises were correct. 
Among the numerous creep-holes and branch-valleys I 
strayed into the wrong one, and had I gone much further 
it might have cost days to find me. 

Here, for the first time, we met the sand-rivers of the 
desert. The Wilderness of Sinai is not, as some suppose, 
a vast sheet of sand. The surface mostly consists of 
coarse gravel, pebbles and rocks ; but here were deep 
sand-beds, like drifted heaps of granular snow, through 
which the camels toiled with trembling, unsteady steps. 
Trackless as the sea, none but the native Bedouin could 
possibly steer toward the desired country here. The 
stranger has great difficulty to find the way in these 
pathless sand regions. The camel-tracks are soon covered 
over by the sand-storms. In some places stone-heaps 
are" piled up to direct the traveller. Just as Jeremiah 
(31 : 21,) has it : " Set thee up way-marks : make thee 
high heaps, set thine heart toward the highway, even the 
way which thou wentest." Again there was no shade in 
which to enjoy our frugal noon-day meal. We hung the 
mat over a dead bush, which gave us enough to cover 
head and shoulders as we lay prostrate under it. We 
passed singular rock-formations ; granite, sandstone, 
and limestone succeeded each other in abrupt ledges, 
green, grey, black, red, white, brown, and sometimes 



ENCAMPMENT AT HAZEROTH. 



153 



all these colors commingling in blended streaks. Huge 
sand-rocks rose like islands out of these sand-rivers, 
covered with inscriptions, and a tissue of pores like mag- 
nified honey-combs. The weather was intensely hot ; 
heat poured from above and teemed from the sand, 
and every little breath of air through the narrow valley 
was like a blast from a hot oven. Our water from Mount 
Sinai became even warmer and less palatable than the 
Nile water. 

"We encamped in Hazeroth, where Miriam was smitten 
with leprosy, because she and Aaron "spake against 
Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had 
married." Num. 12 : 1. Faint and weary, we hailed the 
rest of the Sabbath with unusual delight. The valley 
seemed gorged with heat. \Ye resorted to every pos- 
sible expedient for relief. Only the roof of the tent was 
left for shade, the rest all open to get air if possible. 
The thermometer rose to 121 in the sun, and 93 in the 
shade. Still, on Monday morning, we resumed our jour- 
ney, greatly refreshed in body and spirit. Toward noon 
we were hailed by an Arab whom Ahmed had despatched 
from "Wady Feiran, to engage for us the services of 
Sheikh Hussein at Akaba, in advance of other travellers. 
He informed us that Hussein was preparing for war with 
a neighboring tribe, and therefore could not take us to 
Petra through the territory of his enemy. We had all 
along counted on getting to Petra, next to Mount Sinai 
the most interesting place outside of Palestine. Good 
Friday and Easter we fondly hoped to spend at Jerusalem. 
Hussein was our only hope of gaining this two-fold object. 
The news of the messenger seemed to cut off all hope of 
attaining either, and, besides, would detain us a week 
longer in the wilderness. It was like the Hebrew disap- 



154 



THE FIERY SERPENTS. 



pointment in miniature. Mrs. S soon found relief 

in a gush of tears ; the rest, less given to the melting mood 
than the gentle sex, choked away their grief in a few 
hours of sullen manly gloom. 

At noon we entered a narrow gorge, Wady El-Am 
{valley of the well), so-called from a small brackish rill 
that ripples through it for a short distance, then soaks 
away again in the sand. It is quite narrow, the rocks 
rising perpendicularly to 1000 feet, ledge lapping over 
ledge like the streets in Eastern cities, where the upper 
stories project and almost meet. As we proceeded, the 
intricate bluffs uncoiled themselves, disclosing at every 
turn new aspects of grandeur. A few palm trees grew 
along the water, and occasionally on the rocks was "the 
hyssop that springeth out of the wall." 1 Kings 4 : 33. 
All else was bare and barren. 

When Moses led the Hebrews through this " great and 
terrible wilderness," it abounded with "fiery serpents 
and scorpions." Deut. 8 : 15. In many places the ground, 
or rather the rocks, are alive with serpents and large 
lizards, some a foot or more in length, with skins that 
shine like pearls. These reptiles are often of a bright 
blue and green color, and dart across your path, and 
under the rocks and loose stones, like arrows. May not 
these shining, dazzling reptiles be the fiery serpents with 
which the Lord scourged the Hebrews ? Num. 21 : 6. The 
wilderness also still abounds with scorpions, the size of a 
large beetle. They usually hide below loose atones, and 
are very poisonous. The first thing in putting up our 
tent, was to turn over all the stones on the ground so 
as to clear away the scorpions. 

Threading down this deep road with our long line of 
camels, the view suddenly opened into the distance, and 



THE GULF OF AKABA. -155 

there were the waters of the Gulf of Akaba, and beyond 
them the hills of Arabia Petra. What a feast when the 
eye escapes from the narrow rock-bound view of cliffs and 
sand, to look out once more over a varied scene of land 
and sea ! The camels were urged on at a quicker pace 
to get into the cooling sea-breeze along the shore. Large 
shoals of sea-monsters, like large logs, rolled about on 
the surface, which we took for porpoises and sharks. 
Regardless of these, we plunged into the cooling gulf, 
which washed away the melancholy humors of a whole 
week. 

We encamped near the sea amid a palm-grove. The 
beach was strewn with coral and sea-shells of every size 
and hue. Till late at night we sat before the door of 
the tent, watching and listening to the silvery waves 
rolling and breaking on the shore, inhaling the exhilar- 
ating sea-air, and pouring out our grateful hearts in 
" Sweet Home." Watching the stars as one by one they 
dropped behind the adjacent western hills, we mused 
and spake of our homes way off in the West, over the 
broad ocean, and of our homes in heaven. Far out in 
the sea we heard the song of a few Arabs, who had 
mounted palm logs, and paddled out to catch fish for us. 
Visions of tumbling waves, and grinning, gaping sharks 
rose before my mind ; but in spite of these they brought 
fresh fish next morning, a rare dish on our table. How 
pretty the stars shine here, with which one feels a pecu- 
liar sympathy in this region ; the same that shone four 
thousand years ago ! " The bands of Orion," and " the 
sweet influence of the Pleiades," as seen under this 
Eastern sky, tell one much of good old Job, and form a 
cord of fellowship with him. How sublime and grand 
his poetry seems along this sea, and under the starry 



156 



SEA-SHORE TRAVEL. 



heavens, where he sings of Him that " sealeth up the 
stars, which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and tread- 
eth upon the waves of the sea"! Job 9 : 7-8. These 
stars become links that bind one to the past, and make 
home and friends seem nearer. Often the thought that 
in six or eight hours my friends at home could see the 
same stars, apparently diminished the sense of distance 
between us. 

The next morning the Bedouins watered the camels at 
a neighboring well. They drew up the brackish water 
with cords tied to the corners of goat skins, and watered 
them out of their kneading basins. Looking down into 
the well, I unexpectedly got a glimpse of my unshaven 
face, so fierce and bushy with hair as almost to frighten 
me at my own image. 

The next day we travelled on the sea-coast, hunting 
shells and coral, as the rest jogged wearily along. For 
a few days my companion had been suffering with ner- 
vous weakness ; the intense heat and the tiresome motion 
of the camel aggravated the attack. I was compelled to 
conceal my fears. Every night I was fearful that the 
next morning would find him too weak to travel. I felt 
unexpectedly relieved when I found him able to mount 
his kneeling camel, on the day we hoped to reach 
Akaba. The mountains blocking up our passage along 
the sea, compelled us to turn into the valleys again. 
Again we had to cross a very steep and rugged pass. 
We dismounted to escape the slips and danger of the 
camels, which crept and clambered up the crooked zigzag 
path in single file. One would hardly believe how dex- 
terously these animals climb mountains. They step from 
rock to rock, with their heavy burdens, their soft feet 
holding to the smooth surface, like a cat, picking their 



*A TURKISH GOVERNOR. 157 

path with wonderful prudence and precision. Early in 
the afternoon we discovered a black line along the upper 
extremity of the gulf, which we hailed as the palm grove 
that encircles Akaba. As our patience, like our bodies, 
had been considerably fatigued, the distance seemed 
inconceivably great. Hour after hour we rode along 
the shell-strewn' beach, and still it seemed far off. At 5 
p. M. we reached the beginning of the grove, and en- 
camped near the village. The Bedouins embraced and 
kissed their friends with their usual gravity. Ahmed 
met a female acquaintance, whom he saluted with open 
arms and a smack of the lip. I took this as rather 
a tender salutation for a man who tells me he loves 
his wife too tenderly to have a second one. Soon after 
this woman set up a fearful racket about selling her 
chickens, to his great annoyance, when he pronounced 
her "an ugly thing." A man of bronze complexion, 
dressed in a long scarlet robe, with a sash and fez, 
or red cap, and a few attendants, approached our tents 
soon after our arrival. He and his retinue soon found 
seats on the ground, lit his pipe, and opened a conver- 
sation with Ahmed, with an air of considerable import- 
ance. They interspersed their rapid speeches by cour- 
teously touching the lip and forehead with the hand. 
Occasionally his excellency would give Ahmed a few 
whiffs from his pipe, followed by complimentary touches. 
Upon inquiry we found that this swaggering personage 
was dignified with the title of "Governor of Akaba." 
By this time the whole village had emptied its contents 
upon us in great confusion. Men brought sheep, women 
and children couched around us in a circle, with water, 
chickens, salad, milk, fish, and fresh bread. Aye, fresh 
bread ; coarse and ill-baked as it was, it proved a luxury 
14 



158 



EZION-GEBER. 



we had not indulged in for weeks. Ahmed bought a 
sheep for seven dollars and a half, which in a very short 
time Mohammed had strung skinless to a tree. The 
sweet fresh water we got soon made us forget our trials 
of thirst on the way. I felt too tired to eat, and Mr. 
M. was still worse. In the evening the governor repeated 
his visit while Ahmed was eating his dinner. He at once 
set to without let or hindrance, and helped himself as an 
unbidden guest. I afterwards found him couching aside 
the cook's wooden bowl, tearing away at a tough piece 
of turkey with his hands and teeth. After he had left, 
Ahmed complained of "the rude fellow," for thrusting 
himself on him and feeding on his fare. 

Akaba, the Ezion-Geber of the Bible, is an insignifi- 
cant, dreary little village, nestled among a beautiful 
palm-grove, at the north end of the Gulf of Akaba. It 
comprises a fortress built for the protection of the Mecca 
pilgrimage, and a few filthy Arab huts around it, built 
of stone with roofs of palm branches. Numerous ra- 
vines, gullies, and earth heaps cover the surface around 
it. These slope and recede up towards the naked, rough 
mountains in the rear. The chief man of the village is 
our self-invited guest, the governor, who has a small 
posse of Turkish soldiers under him, all of whom are 
appointed by the Sultan. To avoid being robbed by 
them, we employed a few as guards. 

Though a wretched hamlet now, Ezion-Geber was an 
important port in the days of Solomon. "King Solo- 
mon made a navy of ships in Ezion-Geber, which is be- 
side Eloth, on the shore of the Reel Sea, in the land of 
Edom." 1 Kings 9 : 26. " Jehoshaphat made ships of 
Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold : but they went not : 
for the ships were broken at Ezion-Geber." 1 Kings 22: 



FORMER IMPORTANCE 



OF AKABA. 



159 



48. And long before this, the Hebrews " encamped at 
Ezion-Geber," on their way to Canaan. Num. 33 : 35. 

These two gulfs, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of 
Akaba, form the fork comprising the Peninsula of Sinai. 
In the- prosperous period of the Jewish kingdom," the 
Gulf of Akaba was the grand highway of communica- 
tion between Canaan and India, the thoroughfare of the 
fleets of Solomon and Jehoshaphat. But the proud fleets 
in which the treasures of Judea and the gold of Ophir 
were borne, have all vanished. Only once a year a few 
vessels sail around from Suez to Akaba with provisions 
for. the Mecca pilgrimage. When these are gone, there 
is neither ship nor skiff to be seen on the gulf; only 
the small palm-raft of an occasional Arab fisherman. 
All the affluent trade between India and Europe now 
passes over the Gulf of Suez, which, during the Hebrew 
monarchy, was as much deserted as the Gulf of Akaba 
now is. Thus, like the flow and ebb of their tide, the 
two great lines of India traffic have alternately passed, 
up the eastern and the western gulf. 

It would be interesting to study the bearing these two 
links of social and commercial communication between 
the East and West have had, and still may have, on the 
history of the world. The relation which India is as- 
suming to the Western nations, promises to be of im- 
"mense importance. What momentous results for modern 
civilization may yet flow from the mutual intercourse 
thus carried on over the Gulf of Suez ! The service 
which it rendered the Church in slaying her enemies, 
may be the type of another great mission it is to perform 
in the future history of Christ's kingdom. 

Down into the corner of these two gulfs runs the wil- 
derness of Sinai, reaching its climax in Mount Sinai. 



160 



THE HISTORY OF SINAI. 



From any of its higher mountains, one or both of them 
can be seen. The learned Chevalier Bunsen says that 
" Egypt has, properly speaking, no history. History 
was born on that night when Moses led forth his people 
from Goshen." Coming from Egypt through the desert 
of Arabia, one feels the force of this remark. You never 
tire admiring the tombs, monuments, and Pyramids of 
the Pharaohs of Egypt; but their inscriptions, even 
when deciphered, fail to give that evolution of events 
which constitutes history. The number of kings and 
slaves, of possessions, sacrifices, and religions, in the 
abstract, are not history. But as soon as you get to the 
Red Sea, you are struck with the development of events 
which, from these on, follow in living succession, as if 
bound together by one vital thread. The Exodus is the 
only historic tide which has ever rolled across the wilder- 
ness. Here they found Amalek, fought, and discomfited 
him ; and here are those like him to this day. It would 
seem that, with real Bedouin cunning, he took advantage 
of the drooping, famishing condition of the Hebrews, — 
attacked the faint and exhausted in the rear ; " smote 
the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind 
thee, when thou wast faint and weary." Deut. 25 : 18. 
Those forty years of wandering are all the history we 
have of Sinai. Of the people and tribes that have lived, 
fought, and died here before and since, the world has 
neither record nor history. 

Every thing in the wilderness is seen in the light of 
this great event. The black- veiled Bedouin women, 
leading their goats along the mountains, always call up 
images of Jethro's daughters ; the primitive habits and 
costume of the Bedouin give one a picture of the pro- 
bable appearance of the Hebrews; the long lines of 



TEE T A W A R A H ARABS. 



161 



black tents around" the desert springs, present a faint 
image of the vast encampment gathered round the one 
sacred tent, with its coverings of dyed skins. Where 
did they bury their dead ? Like the few nameless stones 
around the tomb of Sheikh Saleh, so Hebrew graves 
may have clustered around their encampments. 

The population of the Peninsula is estimated at about, 
4000. The southern half belongs to the Tawarah Arabs. 
These are divided into a number of smaller tribes or 
clans. Some of them are as vigilant of their pedigree as 
the Hebrews, even forbidding intermarriages. They are 
said to be the poorest of the Bedouin tribes. No grain 
is raised in the whole region. Their pasturage is ex- 
ceedingly meagre. Their flocks consist chiefly of goats, 
and not many of these. Sheep, asses, cattle, horses, 
are not found here, only camels and goats. These fur- 
nish them with milk and meat, and that very sparingly. 
They make small quantities of charcoal from their little 
wood, and gather a few dates from the palm-trees at 
Eeiran for the market. They hire their camels to trans- 
port goods and coal between Cairo and Suez. In this 
respect they are like their ancient brethren, " the com- 
pany of Ishmaelites with their camels" and burdens, 
who bought Joseph and took him along to Egypt. Gen. 
37 : 25. These, together with their occasional earnings 
for carrying travellers through the wilderness, furnish 
the trifling sum with which they buy their grain and 
clothing at Cairo for the whole tribe. Their camels are 
small and very poor, owing to their scanty pasture ; and 
when the rains fail, the camels die, and the poor Arab 
must starve or seek refuge with others. And an army 
or nation, but one-tenth as numerous as the Hebrews, 
travelling through this wilderness of Arabia now, would 

U* L 



162 



PHILOSOPHY OF POVERTY. 



either have to bring their food and water along from Egypt, 
or receive manna from heaven, and water from the smitten 
rock, or starve. After you leave Egypt, no grain can be 
grown ; and after you leave Suez, none can be bought. 

We know how the Hebrews were furnished with the 
"manna" for their own use, but they had "flocks and 
.herds, even very much cattle." Ex. 12 : 38. How were 
these fed ? Nothing short of a constant miracle could 
take these through the wilderness as we now find it. We 
read of no miracle performed for the sustenance of "the 
herds." At least thirty-eight of the forty years were 
spent in the broad northern wadys of the wilderness, 
where they led a Bedouin life, perhaps leading their 
flocks over a large district. Here there is some green 
brushwood, and a little more herbage than farther south. 
But where did they get feed for all their cattle during 
the two years' wandering around Rephidim, Horeb, and 
Hazeroth ? Certainly there must have been more vege- 
tation there than now — a supposition not improbable or 
unnatural. The geology of many countries has under- 
gone greater changes than this theory would require, in 
less than 3000 years. 

These Bedouins seem happy and contented in spite 
of their poverty. Philosophers have often remarked 
that we increase our happiness in proportion as we 
reduce our wants. Though few practise this princi- 
ple from choice, those who do it from necessity are 
often the better for it. If this remark be true, these 
swarthy children of the Desert ought to enjoy life in a 
very high degree. They are free from sinful luxuries. 
They eat and wear but little. Ground unboiled barley, 
unleavened and unlarded, mixed and kneaded with water, 
makes their daily bread ; seldom anything else, and very 



THE AVENGER OF BLOOD. 



163 



little of this. The women wrap themselves, head, face, 
and all, in a blue cotton cloth, black with filth ; the men 
wear sandals of the dried skin of a- fish from the Red 
Sea, a sleeveless slip nearly equivalent to a man's shirt, 
with a belt, turban, and a coarse blanket for the cool 
nights. They, live in happy ignorance of the refinements 
of civilized life. Their houses being unencumbered with 
floors, carpets, or even beds, without chairs, tables, or 
cupboards, their washing, mending, and scouring gives 
them little trouble. Their lungs are not crammed with 
close unventilated air in their open tents, nor their sto- 
machs with barbarous loads of unmanageable dishes. 
I heard of no dyspepsia or corns. The construction of 
their dwellings and garments is such as not to shut out 
God's cheering sunlight, and the pure air of life. One 
coming from among the artificial and fictitious wants of 
Europe and America, sees much in the simple, contented 
life of the Bedouin, to put civilization to the blush. 

They are reputed as strictly honest among themselves. 
It is said if an Arab's camel dies on the road, and he 
cannot remove the load, he only scratches a circle around 
it in the sand, and no one will touch it for months. To- 
ward strangers they are not always so strictly just. 
The sheikh or chief of the tribe is the judge in the set- 
tlement of all disputes, after the style of the ancient 
patriarchs. If an Arab is murdered, it will be the duty 
of his nearest relative to avenge his blood, by killing the 
murderer or his nearest kin. He will pursue him from 
tribe to tribe for long years, never resting in peace while 
the unavenged blood of his kinsman cries from the 
ground. Moses had to oppose and guard against the 
cruelty of this law, by appointing cities of refuge, which, 
however, the Bedouins have not. Num. 35 : 19. We 



164 IGNORANCE OF THE BEDOUINS. 



found thera uniformly trustworthy. After all the pack- 
ings a'nd unpackings of our goods, I do not remember a 
single article to have been stolen. It is said if you eat 
bread with a Bedouin in his tent, he will give his life in 
your defence. Erom my experience I have no reason to 
doubt this remark. They are most inveterate beggars, 
and extremely fond of money, for which their poverty, 
however, is a partial excuse. They are always on the 
alert for bucksheesh (a present). If you drop your cane 
or cloak, or sometimes only look at them pleasantly, 
they will put the everlasting bucksheesh at you. When 
we approached Sinai, and wherever a set saw that we 
were approaching a place where their services would end, 
their clamoring duns left us no peace. 

It is said that not one of the Tawarah Arabs, not even 
their Sheikh, can read or write. And other tribes seem 
little better. Sheikh Hussein, of the Alouin tribe, pos- 
sessing immense wealth, can neither read nor write his 
name. They all profess the Mohammedan faith, but it 
sits very loosely upon them. I never saw one of them 
pray. They have no one to read the Koran for them. 
Their faith resembles that in Abrahamic times. They 
believe in God, who made the heavens and the earth. 
He dwells in heaven, and from him they expect and 
receive all good. All misfortune they likewise ascribe to 
Him. In their darkest calamities and trials they say : 
"Allah (God) hath sent it, therefore it must be good." 
With all this apparent reverence for Allah, they are shock- 
ingly profane. In almost every other sentence you henr 
the " Wallah," (by God,) sometimes even in reply to the 
remark of another one. Sometimes Ahmed would turn 
away to us with horror, saying : " These are ugly men, 
they swear to almost every word." 



THE BEDOUIN AND HIS CAMEL. 



165 



They are of an intensely excitable temperament, full 
of fire. Sometimes an ordinary conversation arouses 
them to loud vociferations and violent gesticulations, 
as if they were ready to devour one another. They are 
the true children of their ancient father, Ishmael, of 
whom the Lord said : " He will be a wild man ; his hand 
will be against every man, and every man's hand against 
him." Gen. 16 : 12. True to their friends, they plunder 
and rob the stranger, and are almost constantly warring 
with neighboring tribes. 

The Bedouin lives on the kindest and most familiar 
terms with his camel. And well he may, for he earns his 
money to buy bread and brings it home for him, his hair 
is used for clothing, and the dung for fuel, and his milk 
for food. When he has done his life's work the Bedouin 
eats his flesh, and sends the camel to Paradise, where he 
hopes to live with him after death. He calls him " The 
Ship of the Desert." They both eat and drink out of the 
same basin, sleep in a common herd, and mutually share 
the sunshine and shade of life. They are companions in 
peace and war. They are growling, croaking beings. In- 
stead of the most patient of animals, as I fancied them to 
be, there is no end to their grumbling. Sometimes a crush- 
ing burden gives them cause for it. As the camel must 
kneel to receive his loading, his great effort to rise under 
it sometimes sets every joint in his body to cracking. 
But he grumbles when the load is put on, and when it is 
taken off; like his master's bucksheesh, a mere look will 
often provoke his petulance. I saw only one Arab beat- 
ing his camel. They treat their snarling complaints 
with great forbearance. I could seldom apply the switch 
never so slightly, without being rebuked by the watchful 
owner with " la, la ! " (no, no !) Nature has eminently 



166 



CHARACTER OF THE CAMEL. 



adapted the camel for this part of th e globe. He can travel 
from eight to ten days without water, but then he drinks 
till his skin is blown out to the utmost dimensions. 
When grass and grain fail he eats thistles and the thorny 
branches of the shittim tree, grinding up the wood with 
a noise like that of a bark-mill. For hours our Bedouins 
w T ould sing after their camels to ease their toil, promising 
the reward of kindness on earth, and at the end of life a 
home with the Prophet. I am not sure but what one of 
mine had an ear for music, for these Arab lullabies seemed 
to make him put on a marvellously patient and contented 
air. They have their own way of telling their sorrows. 
When they cannot rise with their load, they gargle most 
pitifully. When the back is sore they throw themselves 
on the ground, whether the load be a lady or a bag of 

coffee. One day Mrs. S was leisurely riding toward 

the Red Sea, when her camel, without a groan of warn- 
ing, threw himself suddenly on his knees and her over 
his head, which was to inform her that the saddle rubbed 
him. Such are a few traits of this friend of the Bedouin. 
I know not whether his kindness towards the animal 
springs from policy or affection, but next to his wife and 
children his camel is his first great care. He hails the 
advent of a young one with the words : " To us a child is 
born." His life is precious as a brother's. When a foe 
maliciously slays him, the wrath of the avenger pursues 
him unto death. 

Upon our arrival at Akaba we learned, to our regret, 
that the intelligence of our messenger had been correct 
Sheikh Hussein was, no one knew where. Some said he 
was six, others twelve days' journey off. He was pre- 
paring for war with the Petra tribe, and could not be 
seen by travellers. Hussein is the Sheikh of the very 



AN ANNOYING- DELAY. 



167 



large Alouin tribe, and usually the only one that can 
transport travellers to Petra and directly to Hebron. 
Though his sordid, greedy disposition nas become a ter- 
ror to travellers, they cannot well do without him. In a 
civilized country, where a man has at least a right to his 
legs, if not to cars and coaches, one can scarcely imagine 
what a pinching predicament such a disappointment 
would cause in Arabia. Here there was no shouldering 
of one's knapsack or hiring of a private conveyance to 
the next town. All the conveyances, public and private, 
were Hussein's camels, and they had ceased running, and 
the next town was Hebron, nearly a week off. Here we 
were among hostile tribes of these wild Ishmaelites, in the 
heart of the inhospitable desert, the road blockaded by 
savage feuds. True, we were at the sea, but without a 
ship to take us. The party which brought us from Sinai 
were foes of the Petra tribe, and therefore could not take 
us through their territory. We might return to Sinai 
with them, but that would not be so pleasant either. 
There was only one way open, a circuitous route round 
by Nakel, which would make our journey a week longer. 
Feeling greatly exhausted, we fortunately concluded to 
tarry and rest a few days at Akaba. This would at the 
same time enable us to retain the delightful society of 
our London friends. 

The next morning we opened the sides of the tent to 
admit the refreshing breeze, and threw off all superfluous 
clothing to enjoy it the more freely. While I was thus 
writing at a cross-legged table, without coat, vest, or 
shoes, Ahmed came down through the grove in evident 
good spirits, with three Bedouins, whom he introduced as 
Sheikh Hassan Abou Raschid, " one of the most power- 
ful chiefs of the desert," and his brother and nephew. 



168 



A DESERT CHIEFTAIN. 



This sudden surprise, and its pompous introduction, under 
the circumstances, threw me into a ludicrous embarrass- 
ment. The Sheikn took off something between moccasins 
and half-boots outside of the tent, so that I was strictly 
in order in bare feet ; then we shook hands, by touching 
the palms of the hand horizontally, and interchanged the 
customary touches of the face and breast. We invited 
them to a seat on the camp-stools, but his brother pre- 
ferred the mat on the ground. The Sheikh tried to acco- 
modate himself to his seat for awhile with evident incon- 
venience, and after shifting and trying to sit in various 
ways, he pushed the stool to a side and squatted on the 
mat. We called for coffee and pipes ; the Sheikh, however, 
being an anti-tobacco man, frankly declared that he felt 
better without it. He was a man past middle life, of 
medium height, slightly corpulent, with a broad expanded 
forehead, an oval face, a black piercing eagle-eye, a 
sprinkling of age in his beard, and a smile playing on his 
cheek. He wore the usual Bedouin apparel. A silken 
burnouse with red and yellow stripes, fastened with a 
skein of yarn around the top of the head ; a woollen 
striped blanket with arm-holes loosely hung over a dirty 
sleeveless shirt, with a girdle and a Damascus sword at 
his side, constituted his regal uniform, the same that his 
subjects wore. His walk and bearing seemed like the 
impersonation of gracefulness and dignity, — a most per- 
fect specimen of a bold, independent chieftain. All the 
while I had to think of Ishmael and Esau, sheikhs of 
their respective tribes, with precisely similar habits. No 
amount of artificial culture could have increased the un- 
assumed easy dignity of his manners. The object of his 
visit was simply this : A few days before he received word 
that no travellers had been able to visit Petra this spring, 



ARABS BARGAINING. 



169 



on account of Hussein's absence. Raschid being, as he 
said, on friendly terms with the Petra tribe, and having 
4000 men at his command to awe the other tribes into 
good behaviour, at once set out for Akaba, to offer his 
services in transporting travellers over the desired route. 
Of course we at once welcomed him as a Providential 
messenger, and immediately negotiated for our safe 
transport. 

Our interview presented a picturesque scene, blending 
primitive with modern features. The Shiekh and his at- 
tendants, with Ahmed and the other dragoman, sat in a 

circle on the ground ; Mr. M on his low bed, and I 

still at the table, whiffing away most orientally in my 
dishabilles. The dragomen couched down before the 
Shiekh, pressing their hands and fingers ; then, as if 
startled, grasping the hand of Raschid, and speaking 
with apparent anxiety and great vehemence. For a 
while the Sheikh spoke with calmness, the very picture 
of composure. Occasionally he would speak into their 
ears with a loud whisper, then again he started with a 
shout of bargaining zeal. The contract was closed, and 
a messenger sent for camels, which were to arrive in four 
days. 

In the evening Raschid and his men, ten in number, 
dined with us. All the courses consisted of a quarter 
of mutton in a wooden dish, able to contain a peck, filled 
up with rice. The Bedouin is ignorant of that refine- 
ment of gluttony among civilized nations, which stimu- 
lates appetite by inventing a great variety of incongruous 
dishes, and thus gorging oppressed nature to death. 
Some one has quaintly said that "many people dig their 
graves with their teeth," which is not without truth. 
However, I ought perhaps to remark that what the Be- 
15 



170 



BEDOUIN FARE. 



douin lacks in variety he makes up in quantity, when he 
can get it ; for Ahmed told us that each one ate as much 
as five ordinary men. But, as the entertainment was 
given at his expense, he may not have been in a position 
to judge them fairly. The arrival of Raschid had a 
charming effect on the health of the camp. It dispelled 
fatigue, braced the nerves, and put us in good humor 
with every other annoyance. 



A DREARY GRAVE. 



171 



CHAPTER VIII. 

/rum €fxw~§thn tn fttn ani %itn\tl%. 



Four days before our arrival at Akaba, Rev. Mr. 
Lunt, from Boston, died here. "We had met him in Cairo, 
and at one time thought of forming a party with him. 
He travelled with a young Scotchman and his tutor. 
The exertions which it cost him to ascend Mount Sinai 
brought on the eastern fever. Desirous of reaching 
more comfortable quarters, they brought him through 
the hot, thirsty desert to Akaba, on a camel, which 
greatly aggravated his disease. Here he lingered a few 
days, the faithful Scotchman nursing him as best he 
could. Just before he died, he pressed the hand of his 
friend and begged him not to desert him, as he would 
die soon. They could get no shroud, not even a rough 
board-box to give him a decent burial. His comrades 
rolled him in his mattrass, and buried him on a small hill, 
back of the village. We visited his grave one afternoon, 
and found the spot excessively dreary. He lies buried 
alone, and will remain so; for the Mohammedans bury 
not their dead with persons of another faith. No tree 
nor blade of grass marked the spot, not even his name ; 
only a heap of stones thrown over him to protect his 
body against hungry dogs and hyenas. It was indeed a 
sad sight to leave one with whom we had socially mingled 

t 



172 



CHARMING SUNSETS. 



but a month before, in tbe sterile, parched region of 
death, where not a shrub or blade of grass grows round 
his tomb, and where the very spot will, perhaps, be lost 
forever in a few months. A stranger, to be ill and die 
in such a land, a week from the nearest town, without 
sympathy or medical aid; with fevery visions of a loving 
wife and family around him, while the burning disease is 
fast consuming him, and at last to be left, even dead, in 
this dreary land, from which the feuds and quarrels of 
Bedouin tribes may at any time exclude the visit of affec- 
tion ; this, in truth, seems a melancholy fate. Never 
did I feel, as I there felt, the force of Jacob's request: 
"Bury me with my fathers." Gen. 49 : 29. After my 
return home, I wrote to a friend in Boston, giving him a 
description of the circumstances of his death and burial. 
He informs me that he communicated it to his sorrowing 
widow, who derived a melancholy pleasure from hearing 
of one who had seen the place where he was laid. Two 
years before, an English minister from Liverpool died 
in Wady Feiran, whose widowed wife had to see him 
buried alone near a heap of sand, where there was no 
tree, flower, nor stone, to mark his grave. 

Beautiful and glorious were the sunsets, as seen from 
among these lofty palms. The sky was flooded with an 
orange hue, which softly melted into rose-tints as it 
waved away into twilight. Then came an after-sunset, 
darting new rays of glory into the heavens. The cres- 
cent of the young moon appeared hanging above the 
horizon, with Venus suspended over her, and following 
in her track. The shade, air, and sea-bathing, which we 
enjoyed here, was a grateful luxury after our previous 
adventures. Akaba combines the advantages of land 
and sea, without many of their annoyances. The 



DEVOUT TURKS. 



173 



swarms of flies which pestered us, could be borne with a 
little effort, and the thievish, famishing dogs, which 
prowled around our tents, were endurable so long as they 
kept from our persons. The excellent fresh fish which 
daily graced our table, were quite a dainty. Some of 
them were of a red color, whose blood seemed to shine 
through their fins. Flocks of smaller ones, like finny 
birds, flew over the surface, sometimes skipping a rod 
without touching the water, to escape the hungry tribe 
of their larger pursuers. The few Turks at Akaba 
strictly practise the rites of their religion. In the morn- 
ing before day, we heard them saying their prayers 
around the tent. Wherever the hour of prayer found 
them, they would spread a piece of garment on the 
ground, and perform their genuflexions and devotions 
with the same off-hand, matter-of-course air, as they 
would smoke a pipe or eat bread. 

One morning I walked round to Ahmed's tent, and 
found that he was again entertaining his noble guest 
around the large wooden dish. They were sitting on 
the ground, where nature took the place of knives, 
forks, and spoons. I could easily understand how they 
managed the rice, for they twisted their finger-ends into a 
spoon and pawed into it with manifest relish. But the 
uncarved mutton was not so easily disposed of. With the 
help of a short sword a slice was started, and then 
stripped down with the hands. Courtesy should have 
prompted us to eat with them out of the same dish, but 
a man's education is often a very stubborn thing. One 
finds no little difficulty to engage in such a hand-to-hand 
ceremony, over a common dish of pilau, in which persons 
figure who are alive with all manner of creeping things 
not invited to the feast. They washed their hands 
15* 



174 



A BEDOUIN SHYLOCK. 



before and after the meal, by the way an important 
matter when so many hands meet on the same plate. 
This ancient and reasonable custom the Pharisees mag- 
nified into a command, who, " except they wash their 
hands oft, eat not." Mark 7 : 2-4. I noticed that Ras- 
chid's servant poured the water on his hands while he 
washed them — an office coming from ancient times. "And 
one of the King of Israel's servants answered and said, 
Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water 
on the hands of Elijah. 1 ' 2 Kings 3 : 11. 

While waiting for our camels, two new parties arrived. 
On the last night at Akaba, the two Raschids and all the 
dragomen met in our tent to draw up a formal agree- 
ment. At first, the Shiekh spoke of twelve dollars per 
camel from here to Hebron. At this rate, Ahmed en- 
gaged eight for myself and Mr. M . But this even- 
ing he demanded fourteen dollars apiece; then demanded 
fourteen dollars for an extra camel for his own use, and 
finally put on five dollars extra for going to Petra. He 
was our only chance, and he knew that we felt it. We 
submitted to all his exacting efforts, until he demanded 
ten dollars bucksheesh for signing the article of agree- 
ment. He would hear of nothing else until the ladies 
interposed, of whom we now had two in the camp. The 
Bedouins look upon the fair-skinned, unveiled females of 
the West with a reverence almost bordering on super- 
stition. They told him that in our nation the custom 
was to reward with presents the performance of a good 
act, but not its promise. Finally, the scribe of the vil- 
lage was sent for to write the agreement. This class 
still exists as a profession in the East. He brought his 
reed-pen and inkhorn stuck in his girdle, and wrote with 
the paper on the palm of his left hand, instead of laying 



THE ORIENTAL SCRIBE. 



175 



it on a table or desk. Where but few persons can write, 
and where even many of the books have to be written 
off by hand, there is a great demand for these scribes or 
writers. In Ezek. 9 a writer is mentioned with his ink- 
horn by his side (or upon his loins), just as these have 
them. The scribes, in our Saviour's time, were the tran- 
scribers and explainers of the law; and where there were 
no printing presses, there must have been much work for 
these men. For his short task, he demanded five dollars, 
but finally reduced his fee to the usual amount of twenty- 
five cents. Raschid, thinking, perhaps, that he had car- 
ried his attempted extortions far enough, took off the 
ring from his finger, put a little ink on it, and pressed 
the seal of it on the paper, which is still the general 
mode of sio-nino- a contract in the East. The Jews who 
made a covenant in the days of Nehemiah, put their 
"seal unto it." Neh. 9 : 38. And in the days of 
Esther the Queen, the scribes of King Ahasuerus wrote 
letters to the governors of his provinces, " and sealed 
them with the king's ring." Esther 3 : 12. In most 
Eastern countries, every one that can afford it has a seal- 
ring on his little finger, which is used to sign letters, 
contracts, etc., whose impression is considered more 
sacred than the written signature of the person. The 
strongest expression of confidence in another, is to pull 
off this ring and put it on his hand, as Pharaoh did to 
Joseph. Gen. 41 : 42. Our agreement with Raschid 
would, of course, have been worthless, if he had seen 
fit to violate it. These Bedouin kings are not amenable 
to any tribunal. When all is over, one's only hope is 
their native honesty. ■ 

Our Sinai-Arabs, and their sheikh, or captain of their 
party, left Akaba the same day we did. They were a 



176 



TROUBLESOME CAMELS. 



kind-hearted, faithful set of fellows, and of course asked 
for bucksheesh. After distributing gifts, we passed through 
the solemn ceremony of parting ; they turning their faces 
toward their bleak mountain home, and we ours toward 
Canaan. It was on a beautiful Sabbath. We had spent 
the former part of the day in singing our favorite Desert 
hymns — ' : Come, thou fount of every blessing," ;; Guide 
me, thou great Jehovah," and "Upward I lift mine 
eyes," together with other devotional services. 

Ahmed and the Sheikh insisted on our decamping in 
the afternoon. We remonstrated, but finally had to 
yield. Raschid's men were awkward, and the camels 
wild and untrained. Ahmed's ran away from him. Bags 
and bottles flew in all directions ; and the blankets, flap- 
ping on the poor beast, increased his fright, and gave him 
the appearance of a running ostrich. This started the 
others, and threw the whole caravan into confusion. A 
large one carried the kitchen in two large chests. The 
rattling and breaking of pans and plates sent him off 
along the line, and threatened to end the matter more 
seriously than it began. The Alouin Arabs were a stupid 
set, and seemed to know little more than their camels. 
After a while quiet was restored, save one large camel, 
which was ungovernable. The leader finally pierced his 
nostrils, and tied the halter through it, which made him 
quite submissive. It is surprising what heavy burdens 
they bear. An ordinary camel will carry on his bended, 
arch-like back, from eight to ten hundred-weight with 
ease. 

We encamped in sight of the gulf, and only about two 
miles from it. At dusk a violent storm arose. The air 
was thick with sand, and our fires flew off in large sparks ; 
and the tents reeled as if ready to fall to pieces every 



SPEED OF THE CAMEL. 



ITT 



moment. One of them was only partly up when it com- 
menced. The pins flew out as fast as the Arabs could 
drive them in. It continued to howl to a late hour. 
Storms are often unpleasant, even when we live in strong 
dwellings, but in tents it is far worse. One hardly knows 
whether to lodge in the open air, or run the risk of be- 
coming entangled among cords and canvass. You watch 
the roof, ready for the first puff of wind to bring it 
down on you. Out here, in the houseless waste, where 
there is neither tree, rock, nor roof to shelter you, in a 
dark, dreary night, you will be able to understand Isaiah's 
image of the refuge of Christ's kingdom, which shall " be 
for a covert from storm and from rain." Isaiah 4 : 6. 

March 30th. — Next morning dawned upon us clear and 
calm. Raschid had remained at Akaba to bring out one 
of the remaining parties. Several hours after we had 
started, we saw him approaching in the distance, as fast 
as his camel could carry him. The fleetness of these 
clumsy, crooked-limbed animals is almost incredible. 
When they amble leisurely along, their gait is endurable ; 
but at full speed, their long, swinging pace is trying to 
the most closely knit joints, and scarcely to be borne. 
The Sheikh, however, sat as firmly as if he had been part 
and parcel of the camel's hump. He had a gun slung 
across his back, a long sword at his side, a burnouse and 
loose garments streaming in the air ; these, with his 
native brave look, gave him the appearance of a genuine 
independent warrior-chief, ready to defy all the Bedouins 
in Arabia. About encamping time he usually rode in 
advance, planted his gun on the ground, as Saul did his 
spear, indicating the spot for his abode and rest until 
next morning. The rest would then encamp and lodge 
around him. Raschid had no spear, but Hussein is said 

M 



178 



A LARGE CARAVAN. 



to dismount at the head of his caravans, and stick his 
spear near his intended bed or bolster. 1 Sam. 26 : 7. 

By this time, our four parties constituting the caravan 
made quite a formidable appearance. We had about fifty 
camels, sometimes forming a line a mile long, eleven 
travellers, and about fifty Arabs. Our encampment called 
to mind the large wandering families of the Patriarchs, 
living in movable villages. Our eleven tents were near 
together, and the camels kneeling around them ; the 
watch-fires sent up curling columns of smoke, as groups 
of Arabs sat around them, kneading their bread and 
smoking pipes. 

Our new servants were an inexpert set. Raschid gave 
us too few, and half of these were good for nothing. 
Some would or could not tie a cord. The order to en- 
camp and decamp was alwa} 7 s the signal for a scene of 
riotous confusion. The stubborn, untractable camels 
made it still worse. Mohammed and Ahmed would raise 
the tent-pole, and vainly call for aid to fasten the cords, 
until the baffled and enraged dragoman flung about his 
arms and screamed like a man possessed. At night we 
reclined promiscuously around the Bedouins' watch-fire. 

They never ceased wondering at our unveiled, fair- 
skinned women. A little old Arab had many questions 
to ask of Mrs. S. and her home ; among others, whether 
she had any children. "With an air of assumed sadness, 
she replied no. The poor man looked at her with min- 
gled pity and distress, and said : "Allah is great." To 
be childless they still consider a mark of God's dis- 
pleasure, and as great a misfortune as that of Abraham 
or Rachel. 

For the last few days we had been travelling through 
the Arabah, a broad valley, from four to eight miles 



MOUNT SEIR. 



179 



wide, and extending from the Gulf of Akaba to the 
Dead Sea. Bushes of tamarisk and desert-grass were 
found in many places. From a distance the ground 
seemed covered with luxuriant vegetation, which a closer 
view showed to be thinly-scattered brushwood. Every 
day we started various kinds of game — hares and par- 
tridges of a very large size ; and gazelles, nearly as large 
as our American deer, perhaps the same as David's 
'•hart" panting for water when pursued in the chase; 
or, as some suppose, the roe of the Bible. Psalm 42 : 1. 

On the East, Mount Seir. which God gave "unto 
Esau for a possession." rises abruptly out of the plain to 
the height of two or three thousand feet. Deut. 2 : 5. 
In the wilderness, one cannot always be certain that he 
is on the precise track of the Hebrews ; they may have 
passed up this valley on their way to Zin. Certain it is, 
that after "Edom refused to give Israel a passage 
through his border," they returned to Akaba through 
this valley. For " they journeyed from Mount Hor by 
way of the Bed Sea. to compass the land of Edom." 
Num. 21 : 4. 

On the second day, we encamped near a family of the 
Alouin Arabs, which aided us to realize more vividly the 
Hebrew scene. A line of black tents were stretched 
along the base of Mount Seir. Their goat-herds, don- 
keys, and a few camels were grazing over the plain. In 
the evening, boys and women brought them to the tents 
in small flocks. They seemed to be the monarchs of all 
they surveyed. Their flocks quietly roamed over the 
broad valley, cropping and browsing to their heart's 
content. It was a complete picture of a pastoral scene 
of olden times, and as you still find them among the 
nomadic tribes of the East. Some of the women lounged 



180 



WOMAN AMONG THE BEBOUINS. 



around the cook's tent, watching- his culinary operations 
with amusing interest. Many of these men are noble 
specimens of their race, in form and demeanor ; but the 
women are sadly wanting in both. They are coarse- 
featured, ugly by nature and practice. Their filthy gar- 
ments, tatooed hands and faces, in short, their whole 
exterior, is ugliness incarnate. Tatooing consists in 
painting blue lines on the chin and forehead, sometimes 
on the back of the hands and arms. Those who get 
their ideas of W oman in the Orient from the Old Testa- 
ment, may have heavenly visions of the sweet Arab 
damsels, the incarnation of Purity, Love, and Beauty. 
But some of the worthiest females of the Hebrews were 
afflicted with envy and jealousy, and travelling through 
it now, one's ideas of womanly delicacy are most pain- 
fully shocked. 

A slight provocation will excite a savage cackling, 
which the proficiency of Xantippe could scarcely equal. 
Here woman is a bond-slave, an appendage rather than 
a companion of man, the merest drudge of her lord, so 
degraded and repulsive in her appearance that she seems 
but a short remove above the animals around her. Pro- 
perly speaking, she has no domestic sphere here. House- 
hold work she has none — no beds to make, no rooms to 
sweep, nor tables to set. She puts her goat-milk into a 
tanned goat-skin, hangs it to a pole, where she swings 
and jerks it into butter. She spreads the butter on a 
board, and ploughs through it with a grass stem to fish 
the hair out which the skin left in. Unleavened cakes 
are easily baked in the hot ashes of their camp-fires. 
Even where she does the cooking, her lord eats, and when 
all is done she gets the crumbs. The canvas of the tent 
m this region is made of camel's hair. A curtain sepa- 



SHEIKH HUSSEIN'S ENTEKTAINMENT. 181 

rates each one into two apartments, the smaller one being 
occupied by the wives and children, and the larger one 
by the husband. The tents are of an oblong shape, with 
an open front. All tents, like the tabernacle of Moses, 
are much longer than wide. Ex. 26. The canvas is 
stretched over ropes fastened on four or five upright 
poles. Strauss "of Berlin, in his " Sinai und Golgotha," 
gives an interesting description of an entertainment which 
Sheikh Hussein gave to his party. " The Sheikh sent to 
his flock, kept by his oldest daughter. A young lamb 
was brought, killed, and prepared. Meanwhile his wife 
in the other apartment took fine meal, kneaded it, and 
made cakes upon the hearth. At the end of two hours 
the Sheikh brought the dinner in two wooden dishes, the 
one containing broth with the tenderest parts of the lamb, 
and the other the remaining pieces. The bread had to 
serve as spoons. Only the Sheikh ate with us. The 
rest reverently waited, scattered over the large encamp- 
ment. While eating we noticed a shaking of the curtain 
between the two apartments, and there saw the wife of 
the Sheikh peeping and listening through a rent in it. 
So Sarah listened behind ' the tent-door ' when Abra- 
ham entertained the angels in the plains of Mamre. His 
two children came from time to time, and with curious 
wonder gazed at the strangers, then slyly and quickly 
retired, perhaps to relate the news to their mother. The 
dinner over, each of the rest received a bread-cake and a 
small piece of meat, according to their age and rank. 
To Musa, his representative, the Sheikh gave, after the 
old Oriental right, at least a double portion. Deut. 21 : 17. 
It was an entertainment precisely as Abraham gave one 
4000 years ago." 

April 1st. — We continued in the Arabah, still abound- 
16 



182 



DISTANT VIEW OF MOUNT HOB. 



ing with tamarisk-bushes. The Arabs, most cruelly 
stingy, brought no grain-feed along for the camels. They 
had plenty of leaves, but these did not suffice for their pre- 
sent work. Our journey to-day was but a grazing-march. 
Pressed with hunger, they ran after every green bush 
along the track, to the great annoyance of their riders. 
To avoid these abrupt digressions, I gave mine liberty to 
crop branches for awhile, with the hope that he then 
would go on his way in peace, but it availed nothing. In 
the afternoon we passed a small plot of wheat, the first 
since we had left Egypt. Turning eastward, the bold 
top of Mount Hor loomed up behind the neighboring 
mountain-ridge, giving us the first view of the " Moun- 
tain of Aaron." We encamped near an isolated rock, 
with an excavated chamber on the top. While tarrying 
here till the next morning, on the border of Seir, we 
think of the watchful waiting of Dumah : " He calleth to 
me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night ; what of 
the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, 
and also the night." Is. 21 : 11. Standing at the door 
of that elevated little rock-house, Stanley's remark fur- 
nishes a pleasant conjecture, that this very rock may 
have been the outpost for the sentinel which Isaiah had 
in his eye. 

During the day the camp was rife with rumors that 
Raschid meditated a breach of the contract. We en- 
camped an hour too soon for him, which added fuel to 
his mischief. We convened a council on two rugs spread 
on the sand, on which we all sat in a circle, and coolly 
summoned the Sheikh to appear before us. I expected 
a Niagara of Arab wrath, but, to my utter surprise, he 
was gentle as a lamb. He told us that last year a kins- 
man of his had killed the Sheikh of a Petra family. To- 



A STARTLING PROPOSITION. 183 



day he met an Arab, who informed him that the Petra 
tribe heard of his coming, and were on the alert to 
avenge the blood of their kinsman. At Akaba he had 
assured us that he was at peace with Petra. I felt sorry 
that my good opinion of Raschid should be doomed to 
wane so soon. He proposed to take us within five hours 
of Petra that evening yet, and then start soon after mid- 
night the next morning, so as to be able to return the 
same day. The almost impassable mountain paths, and 
the interesting and extensive sights of the place, would 
have made it too severe a day for the men, and still 
more so for the ladies. We appealed to the contract, 
which allowed us two days at Petra ; told him we had 
come thousands of miles to see Edom (Petra), and to 
Edom we would go. At length he consented to give us 
two days, provided we would give him a written certifi- 
cate releasing him from all responsibility, saying that he 
was willing to risk his own life, but would not be held 
accountable for ours. But to have granted his request, 
might have left us unprotected and without means of 
transport in this horrible waste. Then he proposed that 
we should leave all our luggage in the Arabah, only take 
the camels we rode and food enough until our return, 
without even a tent for the ladies to lodge in. This 
aroused the chivalric spirit of the camp, which gave the 
chief a hint about the elevation of woman in other parts 
of the world. Finally he allowed us to take a small 
cooking tent along for the ladies, food for three or four 
meals, while the tents, cooks, and all their machinery, 
were to be left back. The reason of his great caution 
in this respect, was to disencumber the caravan from 
every impediment to a rapid retreat. To have a score 
of burdened camels moving over these craggy hills at a 



184 



THE CURSES AGAINST EDOM. 



snail s pace, would have made us an easy prey to our 
foes, in the event of an attack. Our determination to 
proceed evidently caused the Sheikh no little concern. 
He at once ascended a neighboring hill to reconnoitre, 
and on his return seemed unusually serious and medita- 
tive. The Bible tells us that "Esau dwelt in Mount 
Seir; Esau is Edom." Gen. 36 : 8. "I have given 
Mount Seir unto Esau for a possession." Deut. 2 : 5. 

Curse upon curse has been denounced upon Edom, for 
not allowing Moses to lead the Hebrews through his 
country. Isaiah lays all the resources of his poetic 
fancy under contribution, to describe his future desola- 
tion. One almost feels a shudder in reading the pro- 
phetic wrath of his pages. " For the Lord hath a sacri- 
fice in Bozra, and a great slaughter in the land of 
Idumea (Edom). The streams thereof shall be turned 
into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the 
land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not 
be quenched night nor day ; the smoke thereof shall go 
up forever : from generation to generation it shall lie 
waste ; none shall pass through it forever and ever." 
Isa. 34. This curse-ridden land we were now approach- 
ing. It was a calm still evening, reminding one of the 
dread hush immediately preceding a storm. The mystic 
wrath-doom of prophecy that hung over the fated coun- 
try, on the spot acquired a threatening exposition from 
the experience of modern travellers. We felt the force 
of Stanley's remarks most impressively : "It (Petra) is 
literally paved with the good intentions of travellers, 
unfulfilled. There was Mount Hor, which Robinson and 
Laborde in vain wished to ascend ; there the plain half- 
way, where Burckhardt was obliged to halt without 
reaching the top ; here the temple which Irby and Man- 



INCITEMENT TO ADVENTURE. 185 

gles only saw through the telescope ; here the platform 
from which the Martineau party were unable to stir 
without an armed guard; and, lastly, on the very plain 
of our encampment, at the entrance of the pass, travel- 
lers with our own dragoman were driven back last year 
without even a glimpse of the famous city." And to 
crown the list of instructive perils, a few months before, 
the only party that had reached Petra this year, were 
attacked by the Bedouins, had one of their servants 
killed, and then fled, stopping neither day nor night 
until they reached Hebron. And now Sheikh Raschid, 
the bold chief of a powerful tribe, who, of all others, 
ought to feel safe and act with intrepid coolness, is ner- 
vous with fear and apprehension, and climbs on moun- 
tain-tops to see whether Edom is not already lurking 
around our tents ! 

There is a strange charm in adventure, which some- 
times transforms the veriest coward into a hero. 

" For, if a path be dangerous known, 
The danger's self is lure alone/' 

It seems singular that any one should feel at ease when 
he approaches a place so pregnant with dread and dan- 
ger ; and yet if Petra were a peaceful pastoral village, it 
is doubtful whether travellers would feel half the easier- 
ness to visit the famous city. Our party seemed cheer- 
. ful as usual, without the least sign of fear : I doubt 
whether any, but the Sheikh perhaps, lost a wink of sleep, 
for which, however, we were more indebted to our camels 
than our prowess. Stephens says : "A man who rides all 
day upon a dromedary must sleep, come what may;" 
even the much-dreaded savages of Petra cannot drive 
rest from his pillow. Dogs may howl around the tent, 
16* 



186 



WARLIKE PREPARATIONS. 



hyenas steal about in search of dead men's bones, the 
storm may threaten to roll up your tabernacle into a 
scroll, and in spite of all sleep brings a peaceful insensi- 
bility to all, save the pestering, pinching fleas. A more 
formidable enemy to sleep is this contemptible vermin 
than all the robbers and the elements combined. 

April 2d. — The next morning we started at 7J o'clock, 
•with fifteen camels, and as many Arabs as were not needed 
to protect the caravan left back. These with the remain- 
ing camels and tents, encamped toward the foot of the 
mountain, and we threaded up its winding ravines and 
gorges. Our whole stock of swords and fire-arms was 
displayed with martial pride. He that had two weapons 
gave one to him that had none. I had Ahmed's two five- 
barrelled revolvers stuck in my girdle, unloaded; for 
the great object was to present a formidable appearance. 
And these Bedouins have a superstitious dread of re- 
volvers. All they know about them they get through 
far-fetched exaggerated stories. It was told to me, (I 
cannot vouch for its truth,) that some have an idea that 
if you once pull the trigger of a revolver the firing will 
continue while there is a living Arab within reach. 

Raschid sent a scouting-party of three Arajmahead, 
whose wild, half-naked forms would sometimes *luddenly 
turn up on some distant mountain-top, on a look-out for 
the foe. The ascent became very steep and rough, like 
a tortuous mountain-pass up which the toiling line of 
camels clambered and scraped with slow and weary step, 
some high above the others. "We passed along the foot 
of Mount Hor, crowned with a small white chapel, over 
the supposed remains of Aaron. This is one of the few 
spots of Mosaic memory that can be identified with con- 
siderable certainty. The base where we stood was on a 



A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD. 187 



mountain, and far above this rose the round, double-topped 
Hor. Here, around these broad, sloping mountain-sides, 
faintly green "with a sprinkling of herbage, the congre- 
gation was encamped. Moses took Aaron and Eleazer 
his son and brought them upon Mount Hor in the sight 
of all the congregation. "And Moses stripped Aaron of 
his garments, and put them upon Eleazer his son ; and 
Aaron died there in the top of the mount." Num. 20 : 28. 

Here, for the first time for weeks, we met with a beau- 
tiful carpet of grass. The beds of small valleys seemed 
like meadows in spring, with occasional flowerets. In our 
haste to get into the rock-city we deferred ascending- 
Mount Hor until the following day. which alas ! resulted 
as procrastination too often does. The Sheikh became 
more nervous as we approached Petra. Now climbing a 
mountain with spy-glass in hand to reconnoitre, then 

mounting a horse, which Mr. McD of Baltimore had 

brought from Suez, and scouting along our path. At one 
time we discovered him on a hill-top, his elbows propped 
on his knees and resting his face in his hands, the picture 
of half-oblivious meditative melancholy. Large rock- 
chambers were already appearing along the outskirts of 
Petra ; and we were on tip-toe for a startling reception 
from its pretended owners, when the solitary figure of a 
swarthy Bedouin appeared on an eminence to the right 
of our path. He was armed with a gun, and eyed us 
with suspicious silence. The Sheikh saluted him and 
vainly asked him a few questions. He sat scarcely half 
a mile from the city, and must have been a sentinel to 
herald the approach of the stranger. 

We took up our quarters, if such it may be called, on 
a grassy terrace in the northern part of the valley, strewn 
with ruins and half-buried foundations of Petra. To 



188 



ANCIENT THEATRE OF PETEA. 



make the best possible use of our time before the Bedou- 
ins would come on us, we at once sauntered into the heart 
of the city. On the east and west, perpendicular rocks 
bound the valley, dressed and hewn off like artificial 
walls. These are full of doors leading into chambers of 
various dimensions, some near the top giving them the 
appearance of massive squares of many-storied buildings. 
All these are supposed to be the tombs of the former 
inhabitants, of which several thousand are found in dif- 
ferent parts of the city. Some are approached by nar- 
row paths hewn out of the rock, others have no longer 
any way of access. A theatre hewn out of the rocks, with 
thirty-three rows of seats, rising one above the other in a 
semicircle, is still in a perfect state of preservation. 
Above the seats, a row of small chambers looks down 
upon the scene below. The number of spectators it 
might contain has been variously estimated between three 
and four thousand, and perhaps as many more of the 
silent dead looked down on these frivolous sjDectacles of 
earth from the graves hanging over them. The rocks 
skirting the opposite side of the valley likewise abound 
in this singular mixture of abodes for the living and the 
dead, — monuments serious and frivolous, buildings cut 
out of the solid rocks with many carved columns. At the 
southern end the two mountains approach, where there is 
a large temple. Six Corinthian columns grace its majes- 
tic front, of which one has fallen over. "Within is a large 
plain square chamber, and several smaller ones. The walls 
and ceiling are wrought out with great precision. The 
front shows nothing of the grey mossy color of age, but 
looks as fresh and newly-chiselled as if it had been 
finished but the day before. This may be partly owing 
to an overhanging rock which shelters it. 



ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS OF PETRA. 189 



To carve even a toy-house out of one piece of stone 
requires considerable ingenuity; but here are temples, 
with pillars, porticoes, and numerous architectural deco- 
rations ; dwellings and tombs, tier rising above tier, with 
rooms, cornices, and columns, excavated from one rock, 
all one piece, this day as they were, perhaps, when 
Jacob and Esau were little boys — a sight without a 
parallel. The rocks here, however, are mostly sand- 
stone, in which excavations are not so difficult. A va- 
riety of colors blend over the surface — dark-crimson, 
blue, yellow and purple, flood and streak their rays 
athwart these bold fronts with marvellous effect. 

Opposite the large temple is the mouth of the "Sik," 
the only remaining clearly defined street of Petra. With 
a few of our Arab attendants we started out to explore 
it. Remains of a conduit are found along the side, and 
fragments of its old pavement, like that of the Appian 
Way. A small stream of water ran through the middle, 
sometimes spreading over nearly the whole, where we 
had to pick our path over stepping-stones. The water 
originally passed through the conduit and pipes, which 
are still here in ruins. The average width of the street 
may have been from ten to twelve feet. On both sides 
the rocks rose perpendicularly to the height of from one 
to three hundred feet. At some places ledges overlapped 
and approached, excluding the light, and suggestive of 
any but pleasant thoughts when standing under them. 
Shrubs of oleander and the caper-plant grew here and 
there out of the rocks. After we had penetrated into 
this crooked, frowning gorge, our guides deserted us, and 
hanging on to the rear of the party, raised false alarms 
by shouting " El- Arab, El- Arab ! " Unwilling to pro- 
ceed by ourselves, we felt compelled to return. But 



190 



ETYMON OF THE WORD PETRA. 



afterward we made a second attempt, and reached an 
arch, sprung over it at the extreme end, more than a 
mile from where we had started. Some Arabs say this 
stream was brought from the rock by Moses ; and there- 
fore this sinuous street, resembling a long rent or cleft 
of the rocks, is called Wady Mousa. The stream runs 
northward to where the valley widens. Most of the 
ancient dwellings must have been through the bed of this 
valley, still strewn with ruins. The " Sik " or chasm- 
street was the principal entrance into the ancient city. 
It is supposed that the extensive traffic from India was 
carried on through here. 

The name of Petra, the Greek word for Rock, 
from its peculiar rocky position, is not found in the 
Bible ; but Selah, the Hebrew word for the same, does 
occur. As the Old Testament language was Hebrew, it 
is natural that it should be called by a Hebrew name 
during that period. Accordingly, we read that Amaziah 
" slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and 
took Selah by war." 2 Kings 14 : 7. And Isaiah, al- 
luding to the tribute of sheep formerly given to Israel, 
says : " Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land, from 
Selah to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter 
of Zion." Isaiah 16 : 1. Possibly, it may have been a 
prosperous city during the flourishing period of Edom, or 
even, for aught we know, its capital. 'It is probable that 
the numerous dukes and kings of Edom lived and reigned 
here. Later it became the capital of Arabia Petrsea, a 
great emporium of traffic, and abounding in wealth. 
Some of its present remains seem to date from the time 
when it was a Roman province. Anciently, it was three 
or four miles in circumference. Then it declined, was 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING EDO JI, 



191 



lost to the civilized world for many centuries, until re- 
discovered by Burckkardt in 1812. 

While the rock-streets of this once proud city remain, 
Edom has long ago received the full measure of its pre- 
dicted ruin. The Hebrew, whom he drove from his 
borders, though scattered among all nations, is known 
the world over as an Israelite. Wild, robbing Ishmael 
to this day retains his predatory habits, and roams over 
"the wilderness" whither Hao-ar brought him; but 
Edom has been so entirely destroyed, that not a trace of 
his former existence can be found. Who now can find 
an Edomite ? Their country is held by others, and their 
tribe has become extinct. While looking at these mar- 
vellous streets and dwellings, some high in the air, a few 
eagles were soaring over the city, which possibly may 
have had their nests among the rocks, vividly recalling a 
prophecy concerning Edom. i- Thy terribleness hath 
deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart : thou that 
dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height 
of the hill : though thou shouldest make thy nest as hio-h 
as the eagle. I will bring thee down from thence, saith 
the Lord." Jer. 49 : 16. One feels a mingled sense of 
admiration and sadness in the presence of these ram- 
parts of nature. What a strong city thus to be deserted 
and forgotten for a thousand years ! David knew of its 
strength. " Who will bring me into the strong city? 
who will lead me into Edom ? " Psalm 108 : 10. With 
one view, you take in the dwellings of the living and the 
dead, where they worshipped and where they slept their 
last sleep. The shouting applause of the theatre, rung 
up to the sepulchral homes of their dead friends ; and 
these again were borne there after them, and now their 
death-chambers and their dust are, like their names, on- 



192 



A BED ON THE HILLSIDE. 



known. Returning through the deep street, the wind 
sighed a pensive requiem through "juniper" and olean- 
der bushes over the dead city, deserted even by its own 
dead. 

When we returned to our small tent, an English party 
of seventeen just entered the city. They had been 
seventeen days coming from Akaba over Nakel; we came 
in four. So much we saved by meeting our Sheikh, 
Abou Raschid, at Akaba. During our explorations, the 
dragomen had spread their tables on blocks of stone, which 
soon collected hungry groups around them. Camels 
create appetite as well as sleep, and are capital promoters 
of digestion. Reclining on the grass, we chatted till a 
late hour over the causes and remedy of Sabbath dese- 
cration in England. I am not given to star-gazing, but 
in the East one's eyes invariably turn to the shining 
heavens as he reclines on the earth, especially where 
the only lookout you have from the rocks is toward 
heaven. And what a thought that these old familiar 
friends of mine, Orion and the Dipper, have nightly 
looked down on Petra, when these temples, tombs, and 
theatre, were teeming with a living population ! 

But where shall we sleep ? Each sought for the most 
restful spot on the sloping hill-side. I spread my com- 
fort and rug on the damp ground, at the foot of a high 
wall, with a coat for a pillow, and two large stones on 
the lower side to prevent my rolling down the hill ; then 
put on all the coats I had, rolled myself in my cloak, 
covered the head and face that " the moon should not 
smite me by night," put my weary head on the hard pil- 
low, with two revolvers under it, and committed myself 
into the hands of the All-keeping Eather. Perhaps I 
was slightly nervous ; the damp ground and hard bed for 



ED-DEIK. 



193 



once banished sleep. For hours I vainly wooed " tired 
nature's sweet restorer." A few rock-ridden wakers kept 
me company. The rest were rolled up in blankets, in- 
visible as mummies, vieing with the camels in deep, heavy 
snores and groans. The ground was strewn promis- 
cuously with man and beast, which presented a singular 
scene in the pale light of the moon. A few short, dreamy 
naps after midnight was all the rest I got. Hard beds 
are conducive to early rising. Great was the croaking, 
as one blanket after the other unrolled its sore contents 
at early dawn ; here a black visage, and there a white, 
crawled from their chrysalis beds. 

At an early hour we were already on our way to Ed- 
Deir, "the Convent," supposed by some to have been a 
Christian Church. We passed to the northern side of 
the valley, and commenced ascending through a steep 
gorge. Suddenly I felt a strange sensation in the head, 
and quickly turned aside from a precipice to lean against 
a rock. The damp night, bad sleep, and excitement, had 

brought on a fainting spell. Mr. M and the ladies 

took me back to the tent and applied efficient restora- 
tives. The rest proceeded up a rough path, over a stair- 
case hewn out of the rock, and found Ed-Deir in a soli- 
tary mountain nook, with crosses carved on its walls, and 
ruins strewn around it. 

On their return we made immediate preparation to 
leave, already congratulating ourselves for having escaped 
the rapacious Petra Bedouins. The camels were saddled, 
and kneeling to receive us, when suddenly a noise on a 
ridge of the adjoining hill revealed our dreaded foe. 
They live some distance off, with their flocks and tents, 
and beyond doubt were brought on us by the sullen sen- 
tinel of yesterday. A line of some twenty athletic Arabs, 
17 N 



194 



UNWELCOME VISITORS. 



blacker than their usual color, wild and ragged as nature 
and the desert could make them, with long guns, de- 
scended the hill with rapid tread, and approached us. 
A few muttered a cold Salaam, but peace-wishing was 
not their business then. Dr. C distributed hands- 
full of tobacco to provoke, if possible, a friendly feeling. 
Raschid sat on the ground, with this robbing brood around 
him, who at once commenced to clamor for tribute, as 
they called it. We were willing to give them the usual 
present of five dollars apiece. This stirred them into a 
tumult of passion and violent vociferations. All screamed, 
grinned, and gesticulated at the Sheikh, who sat there 
motionless as a statue. Apparently calm and fearless, 
he occasionally flung a reply at them, which, after all, 
showed the lion in him. The scene of raving confusion 
was terrific. I had passed through the haunted regions 
of Italy, and looked on many a robber's face, but never 
have I seen such a cut-throat looking set of brigands as 
these. While some were giving vent to their savage 
oratory, others were leaning on their guns around them, 
with a fiendish scowl. In the midst of the storm, I stood 
at a short distance, studying their physiognomies, and 
fain wished myself an artist, to take a sketch of the 
whole scene. At length they came to terms, and the 
several dragomen paid for their parties. But scarcely 
had they received it before they demanded more. Un- 
fortunately their chief, the Sheikh of Petra, was not pre- 
sent. The stormy quarrel raged higher than before. 
Raschid was the very picture of fearless composure. 
Whether he was a hero, or simply acted him, I do not 
know; but his whole mien seemed to say: " You touch 
me, if you dare." According to Bedouin rules, he and 
his tribe would have avenged the shedding of our blood, 



EOBBEES BAFFLED. 



195 



if possible. But why trouble himself about the extortion 
of the Petra Arabs ? He would lose nothing by it, as 
long as they did not touch our persons. But Ahmed, 
having to furnish all our buckskeesh, flew into a violent 
rage at the second demand. He wildly dashed into the 
heart of the mob, flung his burnouse and fez (cap) on 
the back of his head, defiantly hurling threats and exe- 
crations at the plunderers, with most vehement gestures. 
In passionate, wrathful expression, his face yielded little 
to the most savage countenance there. He told them we 
had paid them what they demanded, and more than they 
had a right to claim ; and now they wickedly pressed this 
second demand ! Then pointing to us, he cried out : 
" There they are, kill them if you dare. The Pasha of 
Egypt is their friend ; he will see to it that their blood 
be avenged to the last drop." Some reached for their 
guns, others flew around Ahmed as if ready to blow his 
brains out. His voice was lost amid their hideous 
screams. It was an Arab mob of the fiercest kind. A 
few words from Kaschid calmed the tempest, and they 
were paid the second time. We at once mounted the 
camels and started. But it was too rare a chance to let 
us go yet. Scarcely had we gone fifty yards until they 
marched before us, and, with presented guns, blocked up 
the path, warning us not to proceed a step, or they would 
fire. They seized the halters, and attempted to turn the 
camels back. The danger was that some of our men 
might crack away at them in the excitement, which would 
have been the signal for a general slaughter. One of the 
dragomen threw down a few pieces of silver, then gave 
orders to advance at all hazards. As we urged the 
camels on, their columns gave way, and they allowed us 
to pass without firing a shot ; for which, under Provi- 



196 



ASSOCIATIONS OF MOUNT HOK. 



dence, we may thank this little nourish of pluck, and 
especially the other party, whose larger number pro- 
mised a greater amount of spoils, which lured them away 
from us. 

At Jerusalem the second party gave us a history of 
their fleecing ordeal. Soon after we had left, new ar- 
rivals increased the number of Petra Bedouins to 150. 
They pressed their exorbitant demands with the usual 
amount of noise, at one time blockading their cooking- 
tent and table to starve them to terms. One of the Be- 
douins seized a short sword, and drew the edge over 

Lord D 's throat. After enduring their turbulent 

taunts and threats of violence for a while, they escaped 
by paying between seventeen and eighteen dollars apiece, 
nearly three hundred dollars in all. 

Our altercation with the Arabs robbed us of a few 
precious hours we had intended to devote to Mount Hor. 
Again we passed along its base, in sight of Aaron's 
tomb, and begged Raschid to give us but a short time to 
ascend to the top while the rest proceeded ; but all to no 
purpose. He was afraid night and the greedy Arabs we 
had just left would overtake us before we could reach 
the tents. It was a sore trial to be forced away from se 
interesting a spot, within one hour's climbing, when we 
could not hope ever to visit it hereafter. For there is 
scarcely a spot in all this wilderness, so clearly identified 
with its Scripture narrative as this mount. There is no 
doubt, whatever, that here "the Lord spake unto Moses 
and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the coast of the land of 
Edom, saying : Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, 
for he shall not enter into the land which I have given 
unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against 
my word at the water of Meribah." Num. 20 : 23-24. 



THE GRAVE OF AARON. 



197 



The mount is somewhat conically shaped, rising out of 
other mountains, and lifting its double top far above its 
fellows. On. one of these is a little stone building, — a 
Wely, or tomb and sanctuary, such as Mohammedans 
build over the graves of their saints. You see nothing 
within but the usual marks of Mohammedan devotion — 
ragged shawls,* ostrich eggs, and a few beads. But 
under it, in a cave, is the supposed grave of Aaron. 
Moses took his brother Aaron, who had been his spokes- 
man to the people, " up into Mount Hor in the sight of 
all the congregation [scattered over the rising hill-sides 
around its base]. And Moses stripped Aaron of his 
garments, and put them upon Eleazer his son ; and 
Aaron died there in the top of the mount." Num. 20 : 
27-28. Out in the Arabah, down toward the Red Sea, 
and from remote wadys of the wilderness, you see the 
grave of Aaron lifted toward heaven from this double 
mountain top, like the uplifted hands of the interceding 
high-priest at the altar. From its summit, you can look 
over into "the land of Uz," the home of Job. 

This grave of the first high-priest of the Jews has 
become a holy shrine to people of every tribe and 
tongue. Even the sons of Ishmael — Bedouins and Mo- 
hammedans — when they get but a passing, distant 
glimpse of Wely Nebun Aurun on the summit of Mount 
Hor, pause on their journey to sacrifice an animal, whose 
blood they cover with a heap of stones. These stone 
heaps the traveller finds around the mountain, as well 
as at the distance of a day's journey. The sons of Abra- 
ham here call upon the God of their fathers, as they lie 
prostrate around one of the holiest Jewish shrines, out- 
side of Jerusalem. Most Christian travellers must con- 
tent themselves with a distant view of the spot, as we 
17* 



198 



GLOOMY APPREHENSIONS. 



did, on account of the fiend-like wickedness of the Petra 
Bedouins. 

On our return, we had to clamber over the same 
rugged mountain pass. There is much more pasturage on 
the mountains of Seir and around Petra, than further 
south. Thinly scattered grass is found in the mountain- 
streams and on the elevated plains. The mountain on 
the opposite side of the Arabah looks totally bald. When 
Moses wanted to pass through Edom here, he promised 
not to " pass through the fields or through the vineyards " 
(Num. 20), indicating a tolerable state of cultivation in 
Edom then. The steep climbing slipped the saddle 
from the camel's hump, which sometimes threw itself 
on its knees to get me oif. This brought on my previ- 
ously weak nerves, and when we reached the encamp- 
ment I was scarcely able to walk into the tent. Often 
our weak nerves are more prolific in tears than a sorrow- 
ing heart. I was going to say, for once my heart for- 
sook me, but I will be nearer the truth when I say that 
my nerves forsook me. It was a dreadful fate to break 
down in this curse-blighted region, haunted by maraud- 
ing Arabs. A week before we had stood by the dreary 
grave of an ill-fated friend. Will not travelling aggra- 
vate my attack and make it fatal? And then to be 
covered over by a few comrades, and left alone, even 
dead, in this most lonely place ! It threw me into a 

melting mood for a little while. Then came Mrs. S ■ 

with her cordials and kind words, and my strength re- 
vived. The next morning I awoke a sound man, firmly 
believing that, by the blessing of God, I would live to 
reach the Land of Promise. A few hours brought us 
back into the large rolling plain, or Arabah. Our Be- 
douins shot a gazelle, which furnished a new dainty for 



ARAB EQUALITY. 



199 



our table. The taste was somewhat like venison. Ras- 
chid got on his old bucksheesh hobby again. Nothing 
less than ten dollars for each party would do, but nothing 
came. The younger Raschid, the Sheikh's brother, was 
a mere appendage, in a double sense. His boarding 
and riding were distributed among the whole caravan. 
As he had nothing of his own to eat, he usually found 
his way to one of the cooks' tents, whenever simmering 
pans and grateful odors invited. He had no camel, and 
rode on hip or hump, saddle or no saddle, wherever he 
could find room. Now he was perched on the bare, bpny 
hump of a lean, half-famished beast. Then he sat on 
the back slope of that elevation behind another rider. 
At one time he indulged in a sound sleep, stretched, or 
rather crouched, on the declivity between the hump and 
tail, behind a fellow Bedouin. How a man can fall 
asleep on such a rocking hillside without falling off, I 
cannot divine. There was no perceptible difference be- 
tween the Sheikh and his servants or slaves. They wore 
the same kind of clothing and ate the same kind of food, 
and slept on Mother Earth's common bed, with the same 
celestial roof over them. 

April bill. — Heretofore, we always rested on the Sab- 
bath, save the few miles we travelled away from Akaba. 
Rut since four parties had been merged into one, our Sab- 
bath-keeping resolutions were sometimes outvoted. We 
would need every day to reach Jerusalem by Good Friday, 
land Raschid still had the fear of the Petra Bedouins be- 
fore his eyes. He seemed pretty certain that they would 
pursue us, and a single day's delay might throw us into 
their greedy clutches again. And then the poor Sheikh 
had no Sabbath scruples ; all days were alike to him. 
From all that I could see, he and his men were conscious 



200 



EFFECTS OF THE SIROCCO. 



of no higher destiny than their camels. The god in 
whom they seemed to believe, they triflingly appealed 
to in vulgar profanity, but not in adoring worship. 

Some of us read the Bible on the camels, but their 
jolting gait is not favorable to such acts of devotion. 
We encamped early, when one of the party read the 
Episcopal service for the day in bis tent, which seemed 
very appropriate for our circumstances. The sirocco 
blew yesterday and to-day, filling the air with a hot, 
enervating breeze. It always inspires one with languor 
and prostrating weariness. No amount of nutriment, 
resolution, and determination is proof against it. The hot 
wind wilts and destroys the grass in a short time. 11 The 
wind passeth over it, and it is gone." Psalm 103 : 16. 
Our Bedouins used the dry grass-bushes of the Desert 
for fuel, and in Palestine they burn grass to this day. 
Some kinds are dry even while growing, so that they 
burn it immediately, or pull it up in the evening to use 
next day. " Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the 
field, which io-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the 
oven, shall He not much more clothe you, ye of little 
faith?" Matt. 6 : 30. 

In the afternoon we crossed several wadys, or dry 
water-courses, and then encamped about three miles from 
the foot of Mount Safeh. This is the Desert of Zin, 
where was Kadesh of the Old Testament. Here the 
angel of the Lord found Hagar, the mother of Ish- 
mael, " by a fountain of water in the wilderness," whither 
she had wandered after fleeing from the face of Sarah. 
Gen. 16 : 7, 14. Here the Hebrews were encamped 
when the spies returned from Hebron and Eshcol, bring- 
ing rich fruits with them, and reports of tall and mighty 
giants. " And all the congregation lifted up their voice 



REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES. 



201 



and cried; and the people wept that night." Num. 13 and 
14. I found the distance from here to Hebron twenty- 
four hours, so that the spies had to bear their fruit about 
fifty miles. Here the people "said one to another, let us 
make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." They 
were on the point of revolt, threatening to stone Joshua 
and Caleb ; and when God threatened to destroy them, 
Moses interceded in their behalf. The Israelites had 
tarried in Zin at different times, while they moved up and 
down the Arabah, during their long wanderings. They 
were near the border of Canaan for at least thirty-eight 
years, and yet not allowed to enter. Toward the end of 
their journey Miriam, the sister of Moses, died, and was 
buried here. Num. 20 : 1. Then again they murAured 
because they had no water, and Moses brought water 
from the rock, which he smote with his rod. From here 
they turned southward again, and passed around Edom 
to the other side of the Jordan. 

The next day we crossed the rugged pass of Safeh. 
All dismounted except the ladies. The ascent was fear- 
fully steep and rugged. A squall of rain swept over the 
top, which is crowned with the crumbling walls of a few 
ancient buildings. Up here to this "top of the moun- 
tain " the rebellious Israelites clambered, against the ex- 
press command of Moses, obstinately determined to pro- 
ceed into the Land of Promise, in spite of their leader. 
Num. 14 :.40-45. We left the Shittah, or wild accacia, 
behind us. It is very rarely found in Palestine, only in 
the wilderness of Sinai, where its hard, thorny wood was 
needed to build the Altar of the Law-covenant. At 
Akaba already we entered the dominion of David and 
Solomon. From this hill-top we got the first view of the 
land of Judah. 



202 



ANCIENT WELLS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Jfrnttt ^nrs^k in Snnnltm. 



April 7th. — Soon after we started this morning, we 
passed through a small dell, where two Arabs were 
ploughing, each with a camel. This was the beginning 
of Beersheba. In the afternoon we came to two large, deep 
wells. The mouth of each was walled around with 
square, well-dressed blocks of grey stone, making a rim 
of two or three feet high. Along the inner edges deep 
grooves had been worn out by the friction of the ropes 
with which the water was drawn up. Stone " watering- 
troughs " were placed around them. According to Rob- 
inson, the larger one is twelve and a half feet in diame- 
ter, and forty-four and a half feet deep to the surface of 
the water ; sixteen feet of which, at the bottom, is exca- 
vated in the solid rock. The other well is nearly of the 
same size. The water in both is pure and sweet. 

These wells are evidently very old. Walled up with 
such solid masonry, why might they not date from patri- 
archal times ? Abraham and Abimelech made a solemn 
covenant, in proof that he had digged a well. " And, 
therefore, he called that place Beersheba, or well of the 
oath, because there they sware both of them." Gen. 26 : 
33. This wide plain, with its wells and scanty grass, 
was the vestibule to Palestine, the neutral ground be- 
tween the Desert and Canaan ; and on this account well 



VALUE OF WELLS IN ARABIA. 



203 



suited for the pastoral tribes of Abraham and Isaac, 
Abraham sent Hagar to "wander in this "wilderness of 
Beersheba." where ■■ God opened her eyes, and she saw 
a well of water." that Ishmael might drink. Then Abra- 
ham dwelt in Beersheba himself; and when Isaac's ser- 
vants had dug a well, and found water, he called it 

Sheba." and the name of the city, Beersheba — Beer 
"being the Arabic and Hebrew for well. 

Few things give one greater pleasure, in travelling 
through the East, than its simple habits and picturesque 
scenes which carry him back to patriarchal times. And 
nowhere have these primitive habits been retained in 
greater purity than among the Bedouins of Arabia. 
Here, where the scarcity of sweet water, the natural 
)lence of the Bedouins, and their want of mechanical 
implements, make a well such a valuable possession, the 
old quarrels around wells are, to this day, natural and 
frequent. Where water is so scarce, the most serious 
damage an enemy can inflict is to cover up a well. 
Abraham and Abimelech strove about a well. "When the 
Philistines became envious of Isaac, they destroyed the 
wells which his father had digged, and '"filled them with 
earth.'" Then Isaac digged them again, and called them 
by the names Abraham had given them. He digged 
other wells, "and the head men of Gerar did strive with 
Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours." Gen. 26. 
These wells were the centres and occasion of the strife 
and- contention of those shepherd patriarchs, and con- 
tinue to be such among the Bedouins to this day. Some- 
times several hostile tribes are dependent on the same 
well for their water. Then they get to wrangling, and 
the weaker, like Jethro's daughters, are driven away, 
unless some gallant Moses will come to their rescue. 



204 



THE WELLS OF SCRIPTURE. 



They were the natural halting-places for caravans, and 
wayfaring travellers. Moses gathered the people around 
a well in Moab. Num. 21 : 16. Sometimes an Arab flees 
his tribe to escape some impending evil, and his children, 
or children's children, return, and meet their kinsfolk 
around some well, as Jacob did, starting from this Beer- 
sheba. Gen. 28 : 10. The scene of Abraham's servant 
and Rebekak meeting at the well, and before her father, 
is repeated in all its details to the present day. Gen. 
24. The damsel watering his camels and taking him 
home, the ungirding of camels, and the water to wash, 
the stranger's feet, seem most perfectly natural in the 
life of the modern Bedouins. Often wells became the 
scene of a tenderer passion. For at a well Eliezer 
found Rebekak for Isaac ; at a well Jacob found his 
Rachel ; at a well Moses found his Zipporah. And at a 
well, too, the woman of Samaria found her Saviour. 
What wells were then, they are still. Shepherd damsels 
still lead their flocks of sheep and goats to these watering- 
troughs ; men bring their camels, and make them kneel 
around wells, and ungird them as did Eliezer ; women 
come with their pitchers, and talk to those "who sit by 
the well;" the traveller looks toward it for a resting- 
place for the night; if marauding Bedouins are about, 
his dragoman hurries him off to a less frequented spot. 
Thus the venerable landmarks and customs of patriarchal 
times remain as the instructive monuments of the remote 
past. To this day, " the wells of Beersheba, in the wide 
frontier valley of Palestine, are indisputable witnesses 
of the life of Abraham." 

Musing as our camels jogged wearily over the rough 
wilderness of Beersheba, the wild Arabs around seemed 
graphic representatives of the ancient exiles who sought 



A FURIOUS TEMPEST. 



205 



refuge clown here. Elijah the Tishbite, born in the wild 
forest of Gilead, seems by nature a perfect specimen of a 
Bedouin. His rough camel's hair mantle, "girt with a 
girdle of leather about his loins ; " his fleetness of foot, 
with which, " when the hand of the Lord was upon him," 
he outran the chariot of Ahab ; his sudden, almost magi- 
cal and spectral appearances and vanishings ; his wild 
wandering through Beersheba and the wilderness, to the 
Mount of God, are most striking Bedouin characteristics, 
prophet and man of God though he was. 

The top ridges of the mountains of Moab, green with " i 

herbage, now loomed up across the valley of Salt, in 
which is the Dead Sea. The bed of the valley was hid 
by intervening hills. Cold squalls of rain brought all 
our garments and umbrellas into requisition. Camels 
hate a head wind, whether it be a sirocco or rain-storm.. 
They turn the head away from the wind in spite of you. 
And so we had to move partly in a circle and allow the 
storm to invert our umbrellas, and the rain to saturate 
our garments. The tempest beat so violently upon camel 
and rider that both were confused, and the caravan scat- 
tered hither and thither. We begged for tents to shield 
us, but how erect a tent during such a storm ? All hands 
got vigorously to work, and soon we cast our dripping 
cloaks aside and listened to the rain pattering on the 
canvas stretched over us. At one time the ground was 
flooded with a carpet of colors, like a broad rainbow belt 
around the earth. When it ceased raining, one of the 
party shot a large white bird, either a stork or crane, of 
which a number were flying round the camp ; swallows, 
too, for the first time chattered merrily around us. Per- 
haps they were on their spring return northward, to a 
warmer clime. " Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth 
18 



206 SUDDEN CHANGES OF WEATHER. 



her appointed times ; and the turtle, and the crane, and 
the swallow, observe the time of their coming, but 'my 
people know not the judgment of the Lord." Jer. 8 : 7. 

In some places we found the nights exceedingly genial 
and pleasant, neither cold nor hot, a soothing, balmy 
temperature, refreshing to body and spirit. At Mount 
Sinai, Akaba, and other places, the temperature of day 
and night changed with violent abruptness. The hot 
days unfit one to endure the cold nights. Jacob com- 
plains to Laban ; "in the day the drought (heat) con- 
sumed me and the frost by night ; and my sleep departed 
from my eyes." Gen. 81 : 40. One will soon learn here 
by real experience how it is possible to be consumed by 
heat and cold at the same place within twenty-four hours. 
Where people live in tents, or in the open air, the biting 
.cold is still less tolerable. 

April 8th. — ' l - Sweet are the uses of adversity. ' ' Tribu- 
lation is often a wholesome though not always a fascina- 
ting exercise, and comfort may be reached through a night 
of discomfort. A pilgrimage through the desert is chiefly 
valuable for the trials through which a person reaches 
the Land of Promise. The Christian pilgrim " through 
much tribulation enters into the Kingdom of God," and 
so earth's traveller enters Canaan from the side of the 
Wilderness. A discipline though it be, it is a fit prepa- 
ration for the enjoyment of a " better country." It is 
an instructive lesson, if well learnt, once in a man's life- 
time, to get where naught but a few stunted tufts of 
grass and beasts of prey are seen for weeks ; where all 
nature is stripped of trees and verdure ; where ravenous 
beasts of prey take the place of singing birds ; where with 
parched lips and fainting frame one is doomed to breast 
the thick hot air of the sirocco, and pant and pray for a 



BORDERS OF PALESTINE. 



207 



cup of cold water where no water is. And to be taken 
through it, not in a few hours by the whirl of a railroad 
train, but at the slow toilsome rate of fifteen miles a day, 
and on the see-saw swinging bump of a fatiguing, petu- 
lant, foul-habited beast of burden ; where the famishing 
camel wears out, like the garment of his rider ; wearily 
browsing his way along among dry bushes of crackling 
wooden grass, kneeling down a dozen times a day to tell 
his rider that he has no more strength to carry him fur- 
ther; here indeed one is often tempted to be "much dis- 
couraged because of the way," and yet all is a healthy 
preparation to enter Canaan. First we get a glimpse of 
"the hill country of Judea," then of " Carmel," where 
JNVbal, "who was churlish and evil in his doings," and 
insulted David, kept his flocks. 1 Sam. 25. And then 
came the hills of " Ziph " and " Maon," where David hid 
himself from Saul. 1 Sam. 23. 

Palestine and the Desert melt imperceptibly into each 
other, like day and night in twilight. The night grad- 
ually vanishes, the dawn comes and hides the stars, and 
lo ! the sun peeps up from the east. But who can draw 
the line where night ceases and day begins ? Trees dis- 
appear, but grass increases. We left the palm at Akaba 
and the Shittah or Burning Bush beyond the pass of 
Safeh. Yesterday the ground seemed greener with small 
grass, and patches of grain were here and there seen. 
A few swallows for the first time swept over the ground, 
and now and then a new bird would warble its sweet 
solitary song. A few blood-drops of the anemones, 
which we had left at Petra, reappeared, and daisies 
modestly lifted their heads out of the grass. This faint 
prolonged approach of life and the receding of the desert, 
had an effect indescribably soothing. Toward evening 



208 



ABRAHAM AND ISAAC. 



the ground was literally covered with the richest variety 
of grass, and flower-hues. At break of day this morning, 
a multitude of birds woke me with their early songs, so 
charmingly sweet that I scarcely knew whether it was a 
dream or a reality. The rain had left a sweet pure 
breath on the earth and grass, as it always does : " Like 
rain upon the mown grass ; as showers that water the 
earth." Psalm 72 : 6. The whole was like the refresh- 
ing reign of Messiah's Kingdom. 

"And he shall be as the light of the morning. 
When the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds ; 
As the tender grass springing out of the earth 
By clear shining after rain." 

2 Sam. 23 : 4. 

The profusion of flower-coloring, pale and dark-blue, pink, 
white and yellow, was most enchanting. Again we had 
a mountain to cross, among whose cliffy rocks our half- 
famished weary camels tremblingly threaded along. At 
one place the sloping path approached the edge of a 
steep ravine, and one of the poor beasts carrying tvro 
heavy chests slipped and reeled over, tumbling and crash- 
ing down from cliff to cliff with loud pitiful groans. I little 
thought that the sorry animal would ever carry another 
burden ; but the chests being ungirded he rose to his feet 
ready to resume his task. This was hallowed ground. 
Abraham brought Isaac up here from Beersheba to offer 
him upon Moriah. Ever and anon I thought of il who is 
this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from 
Bozrah ; " and of the Church coming up "out of the 
wilderness like pillars of smoke." Song of Sol. 3 : 6. 

In approaching different countries we had been repeat- 
edly threatened with Quarantine. Again the fearful 
news reached us from Hebron. But what is Quarantine ? 



EASTERN QUARANTINE. 



209 



In the East travellers coining from a country suspected 
of having the plague, are locked up in a prison-like 
building, on the frontiers of the country they wish to 
enter, generally for five days, counting the days of 
arrival and departure, which really would only make 
three. Sick or well, you are bolted into these flea- 
infested cells, an object of dread to all that see you — 
fearful that your very touch, like the leper's, may bring 
certain death. So-called doctors eye you, at a safe dis- 
tance, with learned care, and fill your cell with brim- 
stone vapor almost to suffocation ; while fearful loungers 
watch without, to steal a sight of one reeking with the 
plague incarnate. Such an ordeal would try a man's 
patience under any circumstances. But as we stepped 
out of the wilderness into the grassy glens of Canaan, 
birds, flowers, and buoyant life, still increasing as we 
approached Jerusalem, the goal of our wanderings, our 
pilgrim enthusiasm was ill fitted to brook a delay which 
would keep us in such a gloomy prison, within one day 
from the Holy City, and that just long enough to miss 
the Easter Festival. The conflicting reports of the Arabs 
coming from Hebron did little to relieve our fears. 

We took a hasty luncheon, and then urged our beasts 
toward Hebron at a rapid pace. The grass grew 
among the numerous stones and bald rocks that covered 
the hill-surfaces — excellent pasturage, where the flocks 
of Abraham used to graze. Arabs weeding the grain, 
others ploughing with oxen and riding on horseback ? 
gave a new feature to the scene. The lowing of herds, 
the occasional shout of an Arab shepherd, the hum of 
birds, bugs, and beasts, now followed the silence of the 
Desert. One could see and/eeZ most really how 
18* o 



210 



CAVE OF MACHPELAH. 



" The little hills rejoice on every side. 
The pastures are clothed with flocks. 
The valleys also are covered over with corn (grain) : 
They shout for joy, they also sing." 

Psalm 65 : 12-13. 

Up the terraced hill-sides rose luxuriant wheat-fields, 
and old sturdy olive-groves sloped down to their bases. 
We rode to the right, along the side of a hill ; below us 
a charming upland-vale extended toward a recess in the 
valley ; and lo ! there the top of the minaret loomed up, 
which is over the dust of the Patriarchs in the field of 
Machpelah. 

Since leaving Suez we had seen neither village nor 
house, save the few huts at Akaba. Now from the top 
of the hill we had a complete view of the city, which 
the Arabs to this day call the city of " the Friend of 
God." James 2 : 23. The dark green wheat and paler 
olives, the bald grey rocks walling up the city, and the 
neat flat-roofed stone dwellings rising along the hill until 
they culminate in the large mosque over the cave of 
Machpelah, presented a scene never to be forgotten. We 
descended the hill, and encamped on a grassy graveyard 
north of the city. There was no Quarantine; but as the 
buildings were near our tents, we paid them a voluntary 
visit. While the tents were pitched, we strolled into the 
city, past the large pool, still full of water, where David 
hung up the murderers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul. 
2 Sam. 4 : 12. It was about 3 P. M., the ninth hour accord- 
ing to their reckoning, the hour of prayer. I noticed 
a number of persons on the flat house-tops, praying — 
a custom still prevalent in the East, as it was in the days 
of Peter. We proceeded through narrow muddy streets, 
greatly disappointed with the first impressions received 



MOHAMMEDAN EDUCATION. 211 



at a distance. At the upper end of the city we ap- 
proached the door of the court around the Great 
Mosque, but were turned away, as none but Mohamme- 
dans are permitted to enter. One of the sentinels 
pointed to a hole in the wall near the door, through 
which "Infidels" might get a peep at Abraham's grave; 
but nothing could be seen. We walked around the wall 
enclosing it, 50 or 60.feet high, 200 long, and 150 wide. 
In the centre of this is the mosque over the graves of 
the Patriarchs, the field of Machpelah, which Abraham 
bought for a burying-place. Gen. 23. When Jacob was 
about to breathe his last in Egypt, he blessed his sons, 
and charged them to bury him with his " fathers, in the 
cave that is in the field of Machpelah;" "there they 
buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there they buried 
Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah." 
Gen. 49 : 31. And hither they brought him, across the 
Desert, 300 miles, with "a very great company" of 
mourners following. Solemn burials, and long, sad 
funeral trains must have thronged this God's-acre in 
olden times. Jacob was embalmed, and therefore his 
mummy may still repose here, retaining his crisped form, 
features, and undecayed bones. 

Near the mosque are the principal bazaars of the city. 
They had just been closed, and the streets were almost 
impassably muddy from the recent rain. A loud noise 
of children coming from a cellar attracted our attention, 
which we found to be a Mohammedan school. The 
teacher stood at one end, and started them in repeating 
a passage from the Koran, and then kept them all bawl- 
ing away in concert until he thought they knew it. Thus 
they are taught isolated passages from their Sacred Book 
by rote, without being able to read a word. This com- 



212 



HEBRON. 



prises the Mohammedan system of education, in all its 
branches. 

Hebron lies at the sloping base of two hills, separated 
by a narrow valley, forming a basin. The greater p-art 
is on the eastern side of it. The rocky hills rise high 
above the city, rich with pasture, grain, and large olive 
orchards. The city has about five thousand inhabitants, 
of which five hundred are Jews, the rest Mohammedans. 
When we returned to our tents, a crowd of curious idlers, 
men, women, and children, were inquisitively lounging 
about the doors, until a few soldiers drove them away. 
The graves around us were walled and plastered up to an 
edge, like a roof, and whitewashed • — the same as the 
" whited sepulchres " to which our Saviour compares the 
hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, which had a 
beautiful outside, " but within are full of dead men's 
bones, and of all uncleanness." Matt. 23 : 27. Just be- 
fore the sun slid behind the hill, a soft light shone on 
Hebron; the loud laugh and prattle of childhood sounded 
like coming from a European or American village. Late 
at night it was still dimly visible in the light of the 
waning moon. The whole seemed like a vision of long 
ages past, when Abraham first pitched his tent here, and 
" sat in the tent-door in the heat of the day," and three 
men announced the impending destruction of Sodom and 
Gomorrah ; he interceded for Lot, his friend and kins- 
man, and then " early in the morning" he beheld the 
smoke of the doomed cities rise up " as the smoke of a 
furnace." Over these hills the sons of Jacob led their 
flocks, while the eyes and heart of the good old man fol- 
lowed, and chid their feuds. Here he received intelli- 
gence that his son Joseph was still living, and from here 
he started for the land of Egypt. Here David had his 



RETROSPECTIVE MEDITATIONS. 



213 



royal residence for seven years and a half, where, per- 
haps, he composed many of those Psalms through which 
myriads of believing hearts still pour out their penitence 
and praise. Meditating upon God's merciful goodness, 
which had safely brought us thus far on our journey, and 
looking at the starry heavens, I could not but think how 
David had done the same thing in this cheerful vale of 
Hebron : 

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, 
The moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained ; 
What is man that Thou art mindful of him, 
And the son of man that Thou visitest him?" 

Ps. 8. 

Again and again I stood at the door of the tent. 
Light glimmered through a few windows, while the city 
slept quietly and sweetly over the silent remains of these 
" holy men of old." Time puts them so far from us, yet 
their eyes saw these heavens and hills, and faith still 
feels the holy power of their true and earnest lives. Such 
is Hebron, one of the most ancient cities of Palestine, 
the home and tomb of the Patriarchs. Gen. 13 : 18. 

The next morning the crowing of cocks and the buzz 
and hum of village life woke us with old familiar sounds. 
A crowd of Arabs collected around our quarters, raising 
the usual noisy row with the dragomen for bucksheesh. 
The little, old grey-bearded man who had faithfully 
piloted my 44 ship " over rough seas from Akaba to He- 
bron, was too modest to ask for a present. When I gave 
him his gift he put it into a bosom pocket, which all have, 
to carry presents and money in. Our Saviour alluded 
to this in Luke 6 : 38. " Give and it shall be given unto 
you ; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, 
and running over shall men give into your bosom." 



214 



PARTING WITH THE BEDOUINS. 



Here we had to part ■with Arabs and camels. Sheikh 
Raschid evidently wished for the everlasting bucksheesh, 
but he had sense enough not to press his futile claim too 
hard. He did us a good service where we had no one 
else to render it. Although he tried to slip the cable, 
if he did it to keep us out of danger, he deserves praise. 
"We parted good friends. For a Bedouin he is an honor- 
able man, a dignified, unpolished gentleman, unschooled 
in the deceitful arts of civilized dissimulation, fresh from 
the hands of artless Nature. He was a most graphic 
specimen of a patriarchal chief. Cautious to avoid dan- 
ger, but fearless and cool when it came ; his image has 
so stamped itself upon my mind that I seldom think of 
Abraham or Moses without thinking of Sheikh Raschid. 
My faithful Mahommed kissed my hand at parting, in- 
voking the peace and blessing of Allah on my further 
journey. Poor fellows ! now they return to their peaceful, 
contented homes in the wilderness. Much as they love 
money, no amount could buy them to dwell in more en- 
lightened regions. There they will live, and die, and be 
buried and forgotten. 

Right glad we were to part with our camels. They 
and their predecessors carried us as well as nature taught 
them how, but any journey is " a hard road to travel " if 
you must make it on a camel's back. It is his nature 
so to be. Fleetness of foot he possesses in a remarkable 
degree. Give him rope and a good path, and he will 
stream over the desert like a ship before the storm ; but 
see to it that your joints be well-knit and your hold fast, 
or he will shake part or the whole from his back. David 
could smite all the i^malekites at Ziklas: save 400, who 
rode swift camels. 1 Sam. 30 : 17. The camel is one 
of those necessary evils which some mortals must of 



THE GRAPES OF ESHOOL. 



215 



necessity submit ; but that is a merciful provision of Na- 
ture which through long ages has confined the need of his 
services to countries where people have patience and spinal 
columns fit to endure them. 

After such a conveyance the most stumbling jade 
would be a luxury. In spite of the torturing Turkish 
saddles, which "have the seat, back, and stirrups in the 
wrong shape and place, especially for legs that are where 
they ought to be, our horses tripped over the rough paths 
with marvellous ease and nimbleness. We rode north- 
ward between the walls of vineyards, through narrow 
lanes roughly paved, and up along " the brook of Eshcol," 
where the spies cut down their cluster of grapes. Num. 
13 : 23. There is no stream of water here, as the name 
would seem to imply — a mere waterless dale being some- 
times translated brook in our English Bible, as the brook 
of Kedron and this one. The stony valley slopes and 
spreads up the hill, still abounding with luscious grapes. 
The thick vine-stems stand erect unsupported, like so 
many trees. I was told by a resident of Palestine, that 
he had seen grapes in the vale of Eshcol at least one inch 
in diameter, and some as large as a walnut. They are 
to this day the most luscious fruit of the vine anywhere 
to be found in Palestine. According to American or 
European notions of grapes, the " cluster " which the 
spies bore " between two upon a staff," seems unaccount- 
ably large ; but for the latitude of Hebron it is per- 
fectly natural. " Pomegranates and figs," w T hich the spies 
brought from here, likewise abound to this day. Walls 
enclose the vineyards, made with the stones so profusely 
scattered over the surface. Each vineyard has a tower 
or small lodge for the keeper, like the Saviour's house- 
holder in the Parable, " which planted a vineyard and 



216 



THE OAK OF ABRAHAM. 



hedged it round about, and digged a wine-press in it, and 
built a tower.' 1 Matt. 21 : 33. During the vintage or 
grape-gathering season, so many persons abide in the 
towers of the vineyards around Hebron, that the city is 
almost entirely deserted. 

After our horses had climbed over several stone- 
hedges, we rode through a small field and dismounted 
under the famous oak of Abraham, which tradition re- 
gards as the only relic that marks the dwelling-place of 
the patriarch. "Abraham removed his tent, and came 
and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, 
and built there an altar to the Lord," where he after- 
ward also entertained the angels. Gen. 13 : 18. This 
terebinth or oak is very large, its trunk being over 
twenty-two feet in circumference. Writers of 300 years 
ago already alluded to it ; but whether it was here in 
Abraham's day is another question. Nor does it matter 
much, for I felt satisfied that one of those glens around 
me was the plain of Mamre. 

From Eshcol we proceeded toward Bethlehem and 
Jerusalem. We took our noon-day meal in the shadow 
of a khan, at Solomon's pools. Here are three large 
basins, firmly walled up, varying from 400 to 580 feet 
in length, and from 25 to 50 feet deep. Stone steps 
lead down to the bottom, so that water can be got at any 
depth. Just then they were full of water. Twenty 
minutes below this, are the gardens of Solomon, supplied 
and fertilized from these pools, where trees and vege- 
tables are raised with tropical luxuriance. I believe it is 
generally admitted that Solomon had his country retreat 
here. " I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted 
trees in them of all kinds of fruits : I made me pools of 
water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth 



SOLOMON'S GARDENS. 



217 



trees." Eccle. 2 : 5-6. It is thought that he alludes to 
these gardens and pools deriving their water from a 
fountain, whose aqueducts can be sealed or shut up, in 
the Song of Solomon 4 : 12. U A garden inclosed is my 
sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." 
Josephus says : " There was a certain place about fifty 
furlongs distant from Jerusalem (about seven miles), 
which is called Etham ; very pleasant it is in fine gar- 
dens, and abounding in rivulets of water ; thither did he 
(Solomon) use to go out in the morning, sitting on high 
in his chariot." From these pools, the water is carried 
through aqueducts to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. On 
one of the rocks on the hills around the gardens, Samson 
had his interview with the men of Judah. " Then three 
thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock 
Etam (Etham)," to consult with him for having stirred 
up the Philistines against them. Judges 15 : 11. 

Josephus also praises Solomon for having improved the 
roads around Jerusalem. He may then have had a 
chariot-road to his gardens, but no wise man would risk 
his life in a chariot over these roads now. The winter- 
rains have had all their own way on the hills of Judea, 
tearing up roads and strewing them with rocks and ruts, 
over which only horses and mules can pick their path 
with the utmost caution and care. Here and there a 
patch of wheat or barley was seen in a rocky dell ; the rest 
was naught but bleak, cold-looking hills, the earth having 
all been washed from the rocks. 

While Ahmed hastened to Jerusalem to engage lodg- 
ings, we turned to one side to pass through Bethlehem. 
The hills around it were green with wheat, — a pleasant 
picture of the industry of its inhabitants. As we ap- 
proached it, a half-grown fair-skinned Arab boy reclined 
19 



218 



FIRST VIEW OF JERUSALEM. 



behind a wall near his small flock of goats, a pattern of 
"the Son of Jesse," who was ruddy, and withal of a 
beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. We 
entered the gate and rode through a narrow street to 
the convent built over the traditional site of our 
Saviour's birth. It consists of a large building like a 
fortress or castle, on the southern brow of the hill. 
Leaving our horses in a small square in front of this 
building, we stooped through a low narrow door into an 
old church. In the absence of Ahmed we had no inter- 
preter, and therefore concluded to hasten toward Jerusa- 
lem, and leave Bethlehem for a future visit. Indeed, it 
was soon felt that we had no patience to enjoy any sight 
so near the Holy City. We had to breast a violent storm, 
which kept the horses leaning toward the wind to avoid 
being blown out of the path. 

A half an hour beyond Bethlehem we reached an emi- 
nence where the walls of Jerusalem first came in view. 
The caravans of simple pilgrims simultaneously prostrate 
themselves on the earth in prayer, when they get the first 
view of the city. My first impulse of feeling would have 
driven me to the same devout posture, had I been alone. 
Fools that we are ! ashamed of others, we must stifle our 
earnest holy feelings to hide them. Call it superstition 
or anything else, so I felt, and may God forgive my 
hypocrisy ! 

The approach from this side is not imposing. Only 
part of the wall could be seen along the highest part of 
the city, and behind it the hill slopes down toward the 
Mount of Olives. A few minarets rose above the wall, 
but little else could be seen within it. Jerusalem, 
"the joy of the whole earth!" how singular one feels 
when approaching it for the first time ! No one spoke a 



ENTER THE HOLY CITY. 



219 



word as we slowly rode on our way. A long train of 
events from remote antiquity passed, like a vision, be- 
fore my spirit, and then the event for which all other 
events were made, rose vividly over all, like a star above 
the city. It was on the afternoon before Good Friday. 
The evening was approaching on which Christ suffered 
in Gethsemane, the night of His betrayal, in which He 
also instituted the Holy Supper. I thought of His cruci- 
fixion, when He was mocked and mangled for our sins ; 
then how darkness settled on these hills and the rocky 
earth quaked when He had "finished." Now and then 
a mounted Arab met us coming out of the city, gracefully 
raising his hand in salutation. As one after the other 
muttered his Salaam Aleikum (Peace be with you) they 
seemed like heralds bidding us welcome to " the Abode 
of Peace," (which is the meaning of the word Jerusalem). 
We rode across the valley of Hinnom, entered by the Jaffa 
gate, whither Ahmed had sent a messenger to conduct 
us to our lodgings. The principal street was almost im- 
passable from the swarming throng of pilgrims. To 
avoid these we turned north through a crooked narrow 
alley, then down the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrow) 
where we found lodgings provided for us in the so-called 
hotel of Antonio — Somebody. 

It was quite an event for us to take up quarters in 
Jerusalem, thrilling enough to keep one in devout ecsta- 
cies for months, had not my garments been so thoroughly 
worn into rags. Whatever we may think of the clothes 
of the Hehrews not waxing old during the forty years 
wandering in the wilderness (Deut. 29 : 5), I can speak 
from literal and most ragged experience, that the shoes 
and other clothing of ordinary human beings do wear 
and tear with inconvenient rapidity, during a modern 



220 



REPAIRING DAMAGES. 



and less protracted journey through the same country. 
I had started with an excellent new pair of shoes, made 
of uncolored leather, so as not to attract the sun. At 
Mount Sinai the monks half soled them, that is to say, 
bound pieces of dry skin to the soles with "latchets" or 
straps of the same material. The sharp, granite rocks 
of the sacred mountain, and a week's journey to Akaba, 
brought my feet into a more forlorn condition than ever. 
Here I had the job repeated by a Turk, with no better 
success, and an equal cost of one dollar. 

As the Ishmaelites are not very fastidious in cleanli- 
ness, they are innocent of the art of washing linens. 
To meet the difficulty, the stiff-st arched linens of civiliza- 
tion had to give place to red flannel sailor shirts, which 
needed washing only once or twice a month. Then our 
half-leathern trowsers did very well so far as the leather 
extended ; but beyond that they required daily inspection 
toward the last. ' For awhile, it was sufficient to attend 
to this mending duty once a day ; but at the end it be- 
came a serious question whether it should not be done 
twice. It may sound irreverent, but let necessity an- 
swer for that ; my first two or three hours in Jerusalem 
were spent in sewing up rents and rags, plying the 
needle with the rapidity of an adept tailor. But the 
shoes were past recovery. It was toward the close of 
the latter-rain, when the daily showers had filled the 
streets with water and mud. The gutters in the middle 
of the narrow streets were half full of mire, and the 
rough, slippery pavements sloping toward them, made 
walking difficult with the best of shoes. It was no place 
to walk on worn-out skins. After a long search I found 
one man in all Jerusalem who could make anything 
above a Turkish slipper or morocco socks. But the next 



NEWS FROM HOME. 



221 



day was a holy day, and then followed Easter again, on 
which he would not ply a tool. Humble as I felt, I was 
hardly prepared to engage in the most impressively 
solemn service of my life in such unbecoming apparel. 
For the shoes could neither be blacked nor patched, and 
the mud splashes on the white leather indicated a degree 
of woe-begone austerity and self-denial, vhich few of the 
15.000 pilgrims then in Jerusalem could boast of. 

The next thought was news from the Fatherland. At 
home one often longs to roam through foreign lands, and 
fancies what an earthly paradise he might find in other 
countries. And here a man cannot be five minutes 
within the wails of the most famous city in the world, 
before he rumages every banking-house and consul's 
office for letters and newspapers. Even in Jerusalem he 
is tempted to regard 

"His 7wme, the spot of earth supremely blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest." 

Palestine has no post-office or mail arrangement of 
any kind. Letters directed to the care of some banker 
or consul are generally received, but few others. I had 
not heard from home for three long months, during which 
all my joyous expectations were bottled up for Jerusa- 
lem. I knew that my letters were inside the city walls, 
but where to find them was an intricate problem. Ahmed 
returned again and again from his ineffectual search. At 
length he hailed me at the dinner-table with a package, 
which he had found with the French Consul. How my 
American letters could have fallen into his hands, I can- 
not unravel : but French Consul or American Consul, I 
had received letters from home, which for a while made 
me forget Jerusalem and all its hallowed attractions. 
19* 



222 



OUR saviour's sufferings. 



CHAPTER X. 



April 10th, 1857. — Our first night in Jerusalem was 
the one in which our Saviour was betrayed ; the second 
day was that on which He was crucified. We commenced 
our exploring privileges with an act of worship in the 
English chapel on Mount Zion. Bishop Gobat preached 
a sermon on Luke 23 : 39-44, in which he portrayed 
with touching simplicity and fervor the nature of sin, 
and the intensity of Christ's love, which prompted Him 
thus to suffer for our redemption. I had often heard the 
same truths, but never within the walls of Jerusalem. 
Over against yonder hill is the garden that heard Him 
groan, and witnessed the betrayer's kiss. From this 
spot could have been heard the cry of the turbulent rab- 
ble : " Crucify him, crucify him ! " And over there is 
Calvary, where He hung, "pierced," "forsaken," His 
blood dripping from His wounds in heavy drops on the 
earth ; alone ! alone ! none helping or confessing Him ; 
no soothing whisper of sympathy or pity in that dark 
hour of trial, save the prayer of the penitent thief. 
Then the thought that I helped to pierce Him while He 
endured all this for me personally, though then I was 
not, was overpowering. I tried to mingle my praising 
voice with the congregation, singing the familiar hymns : 
"Hark the voice of love and mercy," and "When I 



CHURCH OP THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 223 



survey the wondrous cross;" but I was too near Cal- 
vary and the Cross for praise. I never felt the power 
of local association so irresistibly as here. Every object 
in the streets received its coloring from the great event 
of the day. The multitude of pilgrims thronging around 
the Holy Sepulchre, with their picturesque costumes, 
called to mind the crowd of Jewish pilgrims that were at 
Jerusalem at the Crucifixion. The Turkish soldiers at 
the gate of the city called up images of the Roman 
"soldiers" which nailed. the Saviour to the Cross, and 
parted his garments. In the afternoom there was a 
service in the English chapel, where three Jewish con- 
verts were baptized. " Beginning at Jerusalem," the 
Saviour commanded just before He took His final depart- 
ure from it. 

Toward evening we went to the church of the Holy 
Sepulchre — a very large building, erected over the sup- 
posed site of Christ's crucifixion and burial. A stairway 
from the main street leads one down into a court in front 
of the church. On ordinary days this was crowded with 
persons selling trinkets carved out of shells and wood 
from sacred places. Many persons in and around Jeru- 
salem gain a living by thus selling their year's labor to 
the pilgrims. The pavement was covered with their 
merchandise, and their noisy traffic reminded me of 
"thern that bought and sold," whom the Saviour drove 
out of the Temple, because they made his " Father's 
house a house of merchandise." Even the tables of the 
money-changers are here, where a sort of brokers and 
shavers furnish pilgrims with Turkish money for theirs 
brought from other parts of the globe. Matt. 21 : 12. 
The Mohammedans never allow anything of this kind to 
profane their places of worship. Immediately after en- 



224 THE "STONE OF UNCTION." 

tering, a flight of steps on the right conducts up on to 
Calvary. On the top is a chapel, with a Mosaic marble 
pavement. It is about fifteen feet square, and formed 
into two apartments by two arches spanning the ceiling. 
Under an altar at the southern end is a circular silver 
plate, with a Greek inscription, stating that the cross on 
which the Son of God died stood on that spot. On each 
side of it is another plate, marking the places where the 
crosses of the two thieves stood. The walls are hung 
with curtains, behind which is the natural rock. - At one 
place is a crack, which tradition dates from the earth- 
quake at our Saviour's death, when "the rocks were 
rent." 

Near the foot of the stairs which lead to Calvary is a 
white marble slab in the pavement, called " the stone of 
unction," on which the dead body of our Lord was 
anointed before his burial. Turning left around a corner 
we come beneath a large dome to the Chapel of the Holy 
Sepulchre. It is about thirty feet long, and half as wide. 
The throng of pilgrims before the small door obliged me 
to wait for my turn : in the meanwhile I inspected the 
exterior of my fellow-pilgrims. Weary and penance- 
worn men and women were crowded around me, some of 
whose garments had been worn into shreds, with sorrow- 
depicted faces, over which trickled the mingled tears of 
contrition and praise. One after the other put their 
sandals on the little plafcform at the low door, and 
stooped their way into the chapel. I bowed low through 
the first door into the chamber over the spot where the 
angel announced to the women : " He is not dead ; He 
is risen ; come see the place where the Lord lay." 
Creeping through another "strait gate" I reached a 
small apartment, but so tightly packed with five or six 



THE SEPULCHRE. 



225 



pilgrims, that I reached an erect standing posture with 
considerable labor. A priest extended a bottle of sweet- 
scented rose-water over the crowd, and perfumed my 
hands. The Sepulchre is six feet long, three feet wide, 
and two feet high. On the top is a horizontal marble 
slab, of a reddish rosy tinge. This is composed of two 
pieces ; the Latin and Greek Christians, jealous of their 
mutual rights to the Saviour's grave, insisted each on 
owning half of it. And this is said to cover "the grave 
hewn out of the rock" in which Joseph of Arimathea 
laid our Lord. Thirty or forty silver lamps hang from 
the ceiling, burning night and day. The pilgrims pros- 
trated themselves before the tomb, and kissed the marble 
slab. Some of them trembled with emotion, and prayed 
like men who are engaged in an earnest work. Whether 
theirs may be the right method, in all respects, to pro- 
cure pardon, it is not for me to say ; but men capable 
of such intensity of devotion and arduous endurance for 
their soul's sake, should not be lightly spoken of. 

Next we come to the pillar of flagellation, to which 
our Saviour was tied when he was scourged. A small 
door in the wall, near the floor of an elevated platform, 
barely large enough to put head and shoulder through, 
admits one to this relic of a column. It is said only 
half of the original pillar is here, the other being at 
Rome. A large monk stood by it to check the clamorous 
hurry of the pilgrims. To get the head into the hole, 
one is compelled to kneel, and of course will be expected 
to kiss the pillar — a part of the ceremony which I felt at 
liberty to omit. 

In a separate, damp chamber is a small tomb exca- 
vated out of the rock — the grave of Joseph of Arima- 
thea. In their pious efforts to localize every little inci 

p 



226 PROCESSION OF THE FRANCISCANS. 

dent in our Saviour's life, and that, too, so conveniently 
as to group many of them under the same roof, the 
authors of these well-meant inventions have here pro- 
duced a confusion which is very embarrassing to think- 
ing minds. It is not very probable that Pilate's hall, 
Calvary, and the Sepulchre, were originally so close 
together. Still, it matters little whether Christ expired 
here, or 500 yards off; once you are so near the eventful 
spot, you feel content to enjoy the general and more 
essential features of the scene, without cavilling about 
minor points. 

I remained to witness the annual procession of the 
Franciscans, commemorative of the death and burial of 
our Saviour. At 8 P. M. priests in white robes, pilgrims, 
and monks, formed into two lines in one of the chapels 
of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They carried a 
wooden image of the Saviour, the size of a half-grown 
boy. A choir of boys led the procession through a cir- 
cular passage toward Calvary. At short intervals the 
procession stopped, when one of the monks, ascending a 
niche in the wall, addressed the crowd ; for such by this 
time it was, a heap of human beings so tightly packed, 
that hardly a limb could be moved. With the aid of a 
guide I worked myself to an elevated position in advance 
of the procession, so as to see it pass. Each address 
successively was in a different language — Spanish, 
French, Italian, English, German, and Arabic. The 
boys were all dressed in white, each bearing a burning 
taper in his hand. At the end of every address they 
raised an anthem with clear,* clarion voices, sweet as 
seraphs, treading with slow and solemn step toward "the 
place of skulls." Then the deep sepulchral voices of 
the monks responded in the distant rear, rolling up 



A SOLEMN SCENE. 



227 



through the vast building their deep, solemn, ringing 
bass tones, with an effect such as the best church music 
in Italy never produced on me. There was a plaintive 
melancholy pathos, sad, yet joyful, like swan songs of 
departing spirits, in those little cherub singers, which 
kindled inexpressible yearnings after the Better Land. 
The monks passed before me in solemn tread, with shaven 
heads and flowing beards, their faces pale, and furrowed 
by austere self-mortifying habits, each with a lighted 
candle in his hand, uniting their deep, hollow voices in a 
responsive chorus of courage and hope to the sweet com- 
plaints of the trembling tender lambs — the whole pre- 
senting the most unearthly scene my eyes ever beheld. 

A large number of Turkish soldiers were distributed 
through the church to preserve order. As the proces- 
sion approached the narrow stairway of Calvary, the 
dense crowd drifted around it ; and when the foremost 
attempted to ascend, a simultaneous push from the mass 
blocked up the passage. Turkish soldiers dashed into 
the crowd, their long swords rattling on the pavement, 
pulling and flinging strong men away like so many sticks 
of wood. Like a wild channel rushing down hill toward 
an outlet, so they rushed and jammed into that door. 
The great wonder was that the soldiers could move a 
limb in such a tightly-packed mass ; but they wildly 
dashed and tore about at their work with most determi- 
nate energy. I had my fears that some would never get 
out of the church alive. Of course but a fraction of this 
multitude could aspire to a standing spot on Calvary. 
My ingenious guide worked me up by another flight of 
steps on the opposite side, just in time for the ceremony 
of crucifixion. As the cross was laid on the floor when 
the image was nailed on it, but few could see the cere- 



228 CEREMONY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



mony. After this it was raised, near the plate marking 
the original spot, while a Capuchin monk, in a coarse 
brown cloak and hood, addressed the crowd in German. 
He alluded to the battle-fields of earth's heroes and con- 
querors, and their grand victories. "But here was the 
battle-field of the Hero of heroes, and the Conqueror of 
conquerors. Here on Calvary the Prince of Darkness, 
who had filled the earth with slaughtered millions, was 
conquered by Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. "We 
stand here to-night to celebrate His victory gained on 
this spot." He then, in simple language, depicted the 
scene of His suffering ; how, exhausted by the cruelty of 
His foes, He was compelled to bear His cross up this 
hill, and, too weak to bear it, sank beneath it. And 
then how the nails were driven through His nerve-tis- 
sued body, and He expired on the cross. This was 
spoken by a monk on Calvary. God bless him for his 
words of truth ! 

The procession then passed to the right of the altar, 
and took the image from the cross. A ladder was raised 
against it, and pieces of linen passed over the cross- 
beam and under the arms so as to let it down gradually 
when loose. Then came two monks in coarse raiment, 
representing Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who 
had shown kindness to the dead body of Christ. One 
ascended the ladder and reached over the cross-beam and 
pulled a long nail out of the right hand with pinchers ; 
after slowly waving it before the crowd he kissed it and 
descended ; then the other drew out the nail of the right 
hand in the same way. Another monk closed the cere- 
mony on Calvary with a French address. 

During the press and push of the crowd in this small 
place I got mixed up with the procession. As nature 



A SURPRISE. 



229 



had elevated ray head higher than those of my fellows, 
and yet sometimes not quite high enough, I found it 
necessary to raise on the toes so as to get a distinct view. 
By this unmannerly means, however, it seems I stood in 
the light of a German priest at my elbow, who made up 
in fresh portly proportions what he lacked in height. In 
a gruff tone of voice he addressed me : " Nu, sind sie 
nicht grosz genug ? Lassen sie andere auch etwas sehen." 
(Ho, there, are you not tall enough yet ? Give others a 
chance to see something, too.) I stepped out of his light 
and apologized with an " Entschuldigen sie mich," (Excuse 
me, sir.) "Ach Gott," he exclaimed, with evident confu- 
sion, "Ich bitte urn verzeihung. Ich wuste nicht das sie 
Deutsch verstiinden. Sind sie nicht ein Englander ? 
(Oh ! I beg your pardon. I did not think that you could 
understand German. Are you not an Englishman ?) He 
several times repeated his apology, and ever after hailed 
me kindly as a fellow-pilgrim to the Holy Sepulchre. 

At the close of the service, the image was wrapped in 
"a clean linen cloth" and carried down to "the stone 
of unction," on which the Patriarch, or head of the Fran- 
ciscans in the East, anointed it with oil taken from a 
silver vase. An Arab monk then climbed to a niche in the 
wall and delivered an Arabic address. A thin cord girded 
his coarse cloak, and his antique Arab face, violent ges- 
tures, and fiery impassionate speech, reminded me of St. 
Anthony just emerged from his hermit solitude. The 
numerous lights borne by pilgrims filled the church with 
smoke, through which the vast multitude was but dimly 
seen. Crowds were hanging to the walls, looking down 
from galleries, niches, and grated windows, and a sea of 
turbaned heads waved over the pavement below. The 
procession then proceeded to the ceremony of burial at 
20 



230 



MIRACLE OF THE HOLY EIRE. 



the Sepulchre, and I to my lodgings for rest. Thus I 
have given my simple story of this pageant of good and 
evil. Save the wrangling to ascend Calvary, I could not 
see much more confusion than one would naturally ex- 
pect from such a compound of Latins, Greeks, Jews, 
Arabs, and Turks. There was much tobacco smoking by 
the Turkish soldiers in the church at the start, but this 
afterward ceased. The whole was a swarming buzzing 
hive of human beings, who, from motives of curiosity or 
religion, were bent on worshipping at a sacred shrine 
regardless of the comfort or peace of one another. 

The Greek Christians commemorate the Crucifixion at 
a later day, when the miracle of the Holy Fire is annually 
performed. As I knew what shocking scenes usually 
transpire during this ceremony, I was unwilling to dese- 
crate with my presence a place which many thousands 
revere as the identical tomb of the Saviour. The legend 
runneth thus : On a certain Easter Eve the lamps and 
candles in the church were suddenly extinguished, and in 
spite of many efforts could not be relighted. Then fire 
fell from Heaven in answer to the prayers of the priests, 
which lit all the lights again. And this miracle, the 
Greeks say, is repeated on the same hour every year, in 
answer to the prayers of the bishops. Not being present 
at this farcical comedy, I can do no better than give 
Stanley's graphic description of the whole transaction : 

" The chapel of the sepulchre rises from a dense mass 
of pilgrims, who sit or stand wedged around it; whilst 
round them, and between another equally dense mass, 
which goes round the walls of the church itself, a lane 
is formed by two lines, or rather two circles of Turkish 
soldiers stationed to keep order. For the spectacle 
which is about to take place, nothing can be better suited 



A SINGULAR CEREMONIAL. 



231 



than the form of the rotunda, giving galleries above for 
the spectators, and an open space below for the pilgrims 
and their festival. For the first two hours everything 
is tranquil. Nothing indicates what is comings except 
that two or three pilgrims who have got close to the 
aperture through which the fire is handed to those out- 
side, keep their "hands fixed in it with a clench never 
relaxed. It is about noon that this circular lane is sud- 
denly broken through by a tangled group rushing vio- 
lently round, till they are caught by one of the Turkish 
soldiers. It seems to be the belief of the Arab Greeks, 
that unless they run round the sepulchre a certain num- 
ber of times, the fire will not come. Possibly, also, there 
is some strange reminiscence of the funeral games and races 
round the tomb of an ancient chief. Accordingly, the 
night before, and from this time forward, for two hours, a 
succession of gambols takes place, which an Englishman 
can only compare to a mixture of prisoners' base, foot- 
ball, and leapfrog, round and round the Holy Sepulchre. 
First, he sees these tangled masses of twenty, thirty, 
fifty men, starting in a run, catching hold of each other, 
lifting one of themselves on their shoulders, sometimes 
on their heads, and rushing on with him till he leaps off, 
and some one else succeeds ; some of them dressed in 
sheep skins, some almost naked ; one usually preceding 
the rest as a fugleman, clapping his hands, to which they 
respond in like manner, adding also wild howls, of which 
the chief burden is, ' This is the tomb of Jesus Christ — 
God save the Sultan.' 'Jesus Christ has redeemed us.' 
What begins in the lesser groups soon grows in magni- 
tude and extent, till at last the whole of the circle be- 
tween the troops is continuously occupied by a race, a 
whirl, a torrent of these wild figures, like the Witches' 



232 



THE PROCESSION BROKEN. 



Sabbath in 6 Faust,' wheeling round the sepulchre. 
Gradually the frenzy subsides or is checked; the course 
is cleared, and out of the Greek Church on the east of 
the rotunda, a long procession with embroidered banners, 
supplying in their ritual the want of images, begins to 
defile round the sepulchre. 

" From this moment the excitement, which has before 
been confined to the runners and dancers, becomes uni- 
versal. Hedged in by the soldiers, the two huge masses 
of pilgrims still remain in their places, all joining, how- 
ever, in a wild succession of yells, through which are 
caught from time to time strangely, almost affectingly, 
mingled, the chants of the procession — the solemn chants 
of the Church of Basil and Chrysostom, mingled with 
the yells of savages. Hence the procession paces round ; 
at the third time, the two lines of Turkish soldiers join 
and fall in behind. One great movement sways the 
multitude from side to side. The crisis of the day is 
now approaching. The presence of the Turks is believed 
to prevent the descent of the fire, and at this point it is 
that they are driven, or consent to be driven, out of the 
church. In a moment the confusion, as of a battle and 
a victory, pervades the church. In every direction, the 
raging mob bursts in upon the troops, who pour out of 
the church at the south-east corner ; the procession is 
broken through, the banners stagger and waver. They 
stagger, and waver, and fall, amidst the flight of priests, 
bishops, and standard-bearers, hither and thither before 
the tremendous rush. In one small, but compact band, 
the Bishop of Petra (who is on this occasion the Bishop 
of " the Fire," the representative of the Patriarch) is 
hurried to the chapel of the sepulchre, and the door is 
closed behind him. The whole church is now one heaving 



ORIGIN OF THE HOLY FIRE. 



233 



sea of heads, resounding with an uproar which can be 
compared to nothing less than that of the Guildhall of 
London at a nomination for the city. One vacant space 
alone is left — a narrow lane from the aperture on the 
north side of the chapel to the wall of the church. By 
the aperture itself stands a priest to catch the fire ; on 
each side of the lane, so far as the eye can reach, hun- 
dreds of bare arms are stretched out like the branches 
of a leafless forest — like the branches of a forest quiver- 
ing in some violent tempest. 

" In earlier and bolder times the expectation of the 
Divine presence was at this juncture raised to a still 
higher pitch by the appearance of a dove hovering above 
the cupola of the chapel, to indicate, so Maundrell was 
told, the visible descent of the Holy Ghost. This extra- 
ordinary act, whether of extravagant symbolism or of 
daring profaneness, has now been discontinued ; but the 
belief still continues — and it is only from the knowledge 
of that belief that the full horror of the scene, the intense 
excitement of the next few moments, can be adequately 
conceived. Silent — awfully silent — in the midst of this 
frantic uproar, stands the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. 
If any one could at such a moment be convinced of its 
genuineness, or could expect a display of miraculous 
power, assuredly it would be that its very stones would 
cry out against the wild fanaticism without, and wretched 
fraud within, by which it is at that hour desecrated. At 
last the moment comes. A bright flame as of burning 
wood appears inside the hole — the light, as every edu- 
cated Greek knows and acknowledges, kindled by the 
Bishop within — the light, as every pilgrim believes, of 
the descent of God himself upon the Holy Tomb. Any 
distinct feature or incident is lost in the universal whirl 
20* 



234 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE FIRE. 



of excitement which envelops the church, as slowly, gra- 
dually, the fire spreads from hand to hand, from taper 
to taper, through that vast multitude — till at last the 
whole edifice from gallery to gallery, and through the 
area below, is one wide blaze of thousands of burning 
candles. It is now, according to some accounts, that the 
Bishop or Patriarch is carried out of the chapel in tri- 
umph on the shoulders of the people, in a fainting state, 
£ to give the impression that he is overcome by the glory 
of the Almighty, from whose immediate presence he is 
believed to come.' It is now that a mounted horseman, 
stationed at the gates of the church, gallops off with a 
lighted taper to communicate the sacred fire to the lamps 
of the Greek church in the convent at Bethlehem. It is 
now that the great rush to escape from the rolling smoke 
and suffocating heat, and to carry the lighted tapers into 
the streets and houses of Jerusalem, through the one 
entrance to the church, leads at times to the violent 
pressure which in 1834 cost the lives of hundreds. Such 
is the Greek Easter, the greatest moral argument against 
the identity of the spot, which it professes to honor, 
stripped indeed of some of its most revolting features, 
yet still, considering the place, the time, and the inten- 
tion of the professed miracle, probably the most offensive 
imposture to be found in the world." 

Of course, the more intelligent are only disgusted with 
this wicked imposture, but the great mass of ignorant 
Greeks believe it all to be a grand miracle. Very large 
sums are often paid for a place nearest the hole where the 
fire is put through by the Bishop, under the impression 
that the candles first lit have the most miraculous virtue. 
The lighted candle is taken home, in the belief that it 
will shield them against sickness and accidents ; and, 



DECLINE OF JERUSALEM. 



235 



finally, it is sewed up into the owner's shroud, to facili- 
tate his attainment of heaven. 

We need not wonder that such a form of Christianity 
is regarded with contempt and derision by Mohammedans 
in the East. All that the Moslem knows about the reli- 
gion of Jesus he gets from these and similar wrangling 
spectacles, where his pretended followers dance in savage 
frenzy, like howling dervishes around his reputed sepul- 
chre — more like a pandemonium than a Christian assem- 
bly. The Turkish soldier chuckles with concealed delight, 
as he pitches into this frantic mass of hated " infidel " 
foes with the bayonet or the butt-end of his gun. 

Alas ! that the deluded and miscalled followers of 
Jesus should thus disgrace his cause before his enemies, 
in his own city. Once Jerusalem was the most favored 
and prosperous city in the world, when " all her ways 
were pleasantness and all her paths were peace," " peace 
was within her walls and prosperity in her palaces," and 
" Jerusalem, was the joy of the whole earth." But the 
wickedness of her children has brought a blighting curse 
on her. Her streets and sanctuaries have become the 
theatres of unbridled madness and shocking orgies, which 
many heathens would be ashamed to commit. 

Poetry and piety have given the name of '"Mount 
Calvary" to the place of our Saviour's crucifixion, 
neither of which words occurs in the original Scriptures. 
It is nowhere called a "mount," and the word " Cal- 
vary " in Luke, is the Latin translation (" Calvaria") for 
skull, for it was called Golgotha in Hebrew, or the place 
of a skull. The scriptural narrative, therefore, does not 
call for a Mount Calvary, any more than for a Valley 
of Calvary. If it was a ' ; mount," as we here find it, 
the Bible nowhere calls it such. As to the Holy Sepul- 



236 IDENTITY OP THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 



chre, I will not weary the reader with the long array of 
evidence for and against its identity. A spot consecrated 
by the pilgrim devotions of 1500 years, around which an 
almost countless multitude has knelt in tearful contrition, 
in itself ought to kindle and foster devout emotions in a 
person, as I am willing to confess it did in me. That 
many mistake the means or occasion of devotion for its 
cause, does not alter the matter. A spot around which 
so many hearts have poured out their penitent sin-sor- 
rows into the Ear of the All-Merciful, becomes to me a 
Holy Place. The Saviour "is not here, but is risen," 
nor can I believe that He ever was buried in this re- 
puted " sepulchre." If God took such precaution against 
the idolatrous Hebrews as to hide the "sepulchre" of 
Moses, we may at least suppose that the empty tomb of 
Him whom alone we ought to worship and serve, would 
be equally hidden by the Divine care. Eor once I felt 
thankful to disbelieve. For to me it is a shocking 
thought that the tomb of the Prince of Peace, whose 
mission pre-eminently was to bring "Peace on earth and 
good will among men," should have become the rallying- 
point and frequently the occasion, for strife and cruel war. 
All the sects which existed before the Reformation have 
their chapels and altars here. Latins, Greeks, Copts, 
Syrians, Georgians, Armenians, tenaciously cleave to 
this spot, and eye each other with rancor and bitter hate 
as they engage in their respective services. Around 
this tomb the armies of the Crusades jostled about in 
deadly conflict to get possession of it. It has drained 
Europe of its strength and chivalrous manhood, and made 
the Holy Land a theatre of misery and bloodshed. 

It arrayed the Christian nations of Europe against the 
East. When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem the 



HISTORY OF THE SEPULCHRE. 



237 



Greek Church was expelled from the Holy Places. 
After possessing it for awhile the Mohammedan or East- 
ern powers again recaptured it. The Greek Church had 
sustained a defeat when the Crusaders captured Constanti- 
nople, which was then its metropolis. Then already 
Christendom was heaving with intestine conflicts ; the 
Latin or Roman was arrayed in antagonism against the 
Greek or Eastern Church. The latter then, as now, 
was measurably the national and native Church of Pales- 
tine. This gave it the first chance to regain from the 
Turks its share in the Sanctuaries or Holy Places of 
which the Crusaders had deprived it. Subsequently the 
Latins came in again for their share. When they found 
that the Greeks had possession of the ante-chamber or 
outer chapel of the Sepulchre, they seized the Tomb 
itself, and now worship in its small sanctuary. The 
Turks still hold Jerusalem, and by sufferance allow these 
wrangling, jealous Christians to occupy Calvary and the 
Sepulchre. But the old war between Christianity and 
Mohammedanism has long since passed over upon the 
two great divisions of ancient Christianity — the Roman 
and Greek Churches. These sectarian feuds around the 
Sepulchre are still backed by kings and emperors. 
Russia is the great leading power of the Eastern or 
Greek Church ; France, England, and as many other 
European powers as policy may dictate, are the pretended 
champions of the Roman or Western Church. The great 
question to this day is, which shall have the Holy Sepul- 
chre. It is well known that the strife for precedence on 
this supposed holy spot gave an occasion for the late war 
with Russia in the Crimea. The roof of the large dome 
surmounting the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre is now 
very much out of repair. The water has been leaking 



238 site of Solomon's temple. 

through for years, threatening greatly to injure the build- 
ing. If Russia or France dares to touch the dilapidating 
hole with hammer or trowel, they will establish a right ; 
for if a man repairs a roof on a building in the East, he 
creates a claim to it. Here the East and West are look- 
ing at this leak with sleepless vigilance and with uplifted 
sceptres, backed by millions of warriors, defiantly warn 
each other not to stop the leakage, though it cause 
the vast building to crumble to the earth. It is rapidly 
increasing, and loudly calls for repair. This day the 
eyes of the mightiest kingdoms and empires of the earth 
are looking to Jerusalem as the fruitful source of another 
war. It is acknowledged on all sides that the roof should 
be repaired, but whether it can be done without strewing 
the earth with slaughtered armies, the future alone can 
show. what a commentary on human nature, that a 
spot revered as the grave of the adorable Son of God 
should be perverted into a fountain of strife and an occa- 
sion for human misery ! 

April 11th. — Ahmed took us on the roof of the Gov- 
ernor's house, where we had a view of the site of Solo- 
mon's temple. The Mosque (temple) of Omar covers the 
spot — a most magnificent structure. Next to Mecca, 
this is the most sacred spot of which Mohammedanism 
boasts ; it has only one mosque which excels this in 
splendor. There is still a wall around it, as there was 
in ancient times, with gates through which only Moham- 
medans are allowed to pass. This wall is about 500 
yards long and 318 broad, forming a large grassy area, 
with a few cypress trees, around the mosque. To the 
south of it, in the same enclosure, is the smaller Mosque 
of El-Aksa. The whole court has the air of a cheerful 



THE MOSQUE OF OMAR. 



239 



park, which on Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath, is 
covered with groups of men and women. 

The Mosque of Omar was built about 1200 years ago. 
In modern times but few Christians have been allowed to 
enter its famous precincts. Three American friends, 
with whom I had the pleasure to travel in Italy and 
Egypt, had the rare good fortune to gain admission 
about a month before we reached Jerusalem. Bishop 
Gobat and the English Consul made up a party, and 
with the aid of a liberal bucksheesh, explored the whole 
building. On an elevated platform, in the centre of the 
area, stands the charming mosque, a large octagonal 
building. At each corner is a door leading through a 
vestibule into the interior place of worship. Fifty-two 
windows admit the light through its white walls, and six- 
teen columns support the large dome, lifting its vast pro- 
portions high above the earth. The lower walls on the 
outside are of marble ; higher up it is covered with white, 
yellow, green, and blue tiles, containing inscriptions from 
the Koran, which give it a singular variegated coloring. 
The dome, likewise roofed with many-colored tiles, rises 
ninety feet above the pavement, and is forty feet in 
diameter. Under the centre of this dome is a rock, the 
summit of Moriah, on which Abraham was commanded to 
offer Isaac, and over which the original temple of Solo- 
mon stood. Gen. 22. " It is irregular in its form, and 
measures about sixty feet in one direction, and fifty in 
the other. It projects about five feet above the marble 
pavement, and the pavement of the mosque is about 
twelve feet above the level of the enclosure, making this 
rise seventeen feet above the ground. ... It ap- 
pears to be the natural surface of Mount Moriah ; in a 
few places there are marks of chiselling ; at its south- 



240 A FOUNTAIN IN THE TEMPLE. 

east corner is an excavated chamber, to which there is a 
descent by a flight of stone steps. This chamber is irre- 
gular in form, and its superficial area is about 600 feet ; 
the average height seven feet. In the centre of the 
rocky cave there is a circular slab of marble, which being 
struck makes a hollow sound, thereby showing that there 
is a well or excavation beneath." 

It has now been ascertained, with considerable cer- 
tainty, that there is a living spring or well beneath this 
temple vault. The two pools of' Siloam, at the southern 
slope of Mount Zion, get their water from here through 
subterranean aqueducts ; so that Milton was correct when 
he wrote of 

" Siloa's brook that flowed 
Fast by the oracle of God." 

This living fountain in the concealed heart of the tem- 
ple explains a number of significant Scriptural allusions. 
" There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad 
the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the 
Most High." Psalm 46 : 4. "All my springs are in 
thee." Psalm 87 : 7. "Draw water out of the wells of 
salvation." Isaiah 12 : 3. "In that day there shall be a 
fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabit- 
ants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness." Zech. 13 : 
1. And in Ezekiel's vision the fountain was made to gush 
up "from under the right side of the altar," which stood 
over it, and ran out under the threshold eastward, 
swelled into a river running along the winding Kedron 
to the valley of the Dead Sea, making the sand fertile, 
and healing its deadly waters, scattering life in its track, 
"because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary." 
Ezek. 47. No figure could be more expressive in a 



ornan's threshing-floor. 



241 



prophetic description of the influence of Christ's Incar- 
nation, than this. And the source of the living fountain 
is very significant. It springs from under the altar in 
the temple ; the region through which it runs is without 
life, treeless, wheatless, and dreary, in which the water 
strews life and good cheer, just as the fountain and 
stream of Christianity, opened in the House of David, 
and by David's son, scatters life through the moral 
desert of humanity in the world, and heals the Dead Sea 
of sin. This stream from Jerusalem shall be perennial. 
"And it shall be, in that day, that living waters shall 
go out from Jerusalem ; half of them toward the former 
sea (the Mediterranean), and half of them toward the 
hinder sea (the Dead Sea) : in summer and winter shall 
it be." Zech. 14 : 8. These two seas are both some 
thirty miles from Jerusalem — -one on the west, and the 
other on the south-east of it. And finally the heavenly 
meaning of the spring in the temple is brought out most 
distinctly, when near this fountain, 44 In the last day, 
that great day of the feast [of tabernacles], Jesus stood 
and cried, saying ; If any man thirst, let him come 
unto me, and drink." John 7 : 37. 

On this rock was Oman's "threshing-floor," over which 
the destroying angel appeared to him, when he and his 
sons hid themselves, perhaps in this very cave under the 
rock. Then David bought it according to the command 
of the Lord, built an altar there, and made it the site for 
Solomon's temple. 1 Chron. 21. 

From the Governor's house I passed out the St. Ste- 
phen's gate, near the temple, down a steep road over a 
bridge across the Kedron, in poetry called "the sweet 
flowing Kedron," with a "gentle stream," but even after 
this rainy season perfectly dry. Then I passed Gethse- 



242 



A PIOUS PILGRIM. 



mane up the steep path of the Mount of Olives. On my 
way I met two simple pilgrims from the Austrian Tyrol. 
One of them, an old peasant, was full of gratitude and 
praise to God for bringing him to the Holy Sepulchre 
before his death. He said this had been his great desire 
from early youth. He was well-read in Scripture, and 
quoted it readily. Speaking of confession, he said it was 
of little use unless a man amend his ways, and that he 
can only do by the help of God. I listened quietly to the 
simple story of his heart, and felt happy to believe that 
he too was a traveller to the Jerusalem above. His coun- 
tenance beamed with joy when I referred to a pocket 
Testament to read the sad story of the Saviour's agony 
in the Garden, while seated together right above it. 

The Mount of Olives is 180 feet higher than the top 
of Mount Zion, the highest point of Jerusalem. From its 
top the whole city spread out to view in all its features. 
The temple area extended along the edge of the Valley 
of Kedron, then the city sloped upwards until it culmi- 
nated in Mount Zion. From this distance the houses had 
a white appearance, the mosques and minarets shone 
with new lustre, and proclaimed the faith of Jerusalem's 
rulers. Twenty-five miles eastward we saw the Jordan 
worming its tortuous course down to the Dead Sea. 

The next day was Easter, the Resurrection day of our 
Saviour. We attended services in the church on Mount 
Zion. One of the missionaries preached on Hebrews 
13 : 20, 21. Two persons were then ordained by the 
Bishop as Deacons in the missionary work, after which 
the communion of the Lord's Supper was administered. 
Not far from here Jesus instituted the Holy Supper under 
the most sad and solemn circumstances. The intrinsic 
solemnity of the Holy Sacrament, and the impressive 



CHURCH SERVICE ON MOUNT ZION. 243 

associations and reminiscences of the place, brought the 
scene of Christ's sufferings, death, and resurrection so 
vividly before the mind, that it was impossible for one to 
control his emotions. Here, here, on this hill our sins 
were atoned for, and those of the whole world. Tears 
were the only relief. Strong, unfeeling men, whom I had 
been accustomed to regard as void of all religious sympa- 
thy, sobbed out their sorrow-burdens, and wiped off the 
tears as they rolled fast over faces which looked as if they 
had never felt a tear, and communed. At last the native 
members, — white-veiled women, and men with their tur- 
bans on, devoutly knelt around the altar to receive His 
"body broken " and his " cup," which is the communion 
of His blood. The congregation was composed of per- 
sons from various branches of the Protestant Church and 
from all parts of the Christian world, who came up hither 
to enjoy communion with Christ. This worshipping as- 
sembly of Christians, rising above partition walls and 
denominational shackles, whose hearts repented, wept, and 
prayed as one heart, presented a pleasing contrast to the 
sectarian strife in the Church of the Sepulchre, and also 
to that of Protestant Christianity elsewhere. It seemed 
like an encouraging type of the union of God's people in 
the Jerusalem above. It was a day of joy, for it comme- 
morated the Resurrection of the Saviour. There at Cal- 
vary and the Saviour's grave we sang : " Jesus Christ is 
risen to-day," and, " I know that my Redeemer lives/' 
hymns that express the conscious sense of a risen living 
Saviour, which have become a memorial of my blessed 
experience on this Easter at Jerusalem. In the after- 
noon I strolled across the Kedron again, and sat me 
under an old olive tree, half-way up the slope of Olivet, 
reading the 24th chapter of Matthew : " There shall not 



244 



PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE. 



be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown 
down." Our Saviour's prediction has been literally 
fulfilled. Immediately before me were a few fig-trees, 
with buds just opening into leaves, such as the Saviour 
may have pointed to. " Now learn a parable of the fig 
tree, When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth 
leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh." v. 32. 

On my return I met a procession coming out of the 
city with tamborines and rude .flags, making a clattering 
noise. Just as I reached the St. Stephen's gate, the 
muezzin called to prayer from a lofty minaret. " There 
is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet," rang 
across the valley of Jehoshaphat, and around the temple. 
It was at the ninth hour (3 P. M.), when the evening ser- 
vice of the Jews used to begin ; the hour when our Sa- 
viour "said it is finished; and he bowed his head, and 
gave up the ghost." The blind man walked slowly 
around the top of his tower, perhaps the size of a lofty 
furnace chimney, within a railing, crying toward the 
four points of the compass, and calling the followers of 
the Prophet to pray where Zion lies desolate and in 
ruins. We attended a service on Mount Zion on a Sab- 
bath evening, in the Diocesan school room. While kneel- 
ing in prayer, with full and devout hearts, suddenly the 
shrill voice fell upon us again from a neighbouring mina- 
ret : " Allahah il Allah ! " as if to thrust the futile claims 
of Mohammed upon us while kneeling around the mercy- 
seat of Jesus. 



Jerusalem's walls. 



245 



- CHAPTER XI. 

Smsithm anil its f tirriitniiiiitgH* 

The present, like the ancient Jerusalem, is surrounded 
by a wall, which was built in the 16th century. It is 
from forty to fifty feet high, and has forty strong square 
towers at regular intervals, after the style of the old 
wall. The modern wall is very thick and massive, and 
has a strong breastwork along the outer edge on the top, 
within which is a path to walk around it. This breast- 
work is perforated with loop-holes, through which to 
direct the guns at the enemy in time of war. An- 
ciently, watchmen were placed on the wall, to watch and 
herald the approach of the enemy, which Isaiah figura- 
tively applies to the Church and her watching ministers. 
"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem, 
which shall never hold their peace day nor night : ye 
that make mention of the Lord keep not silence." Isaiah 
62 : 6. Robinson gives the length of the wall around 
the whole city as being two miles and a half. It took me 
about an hour and a quarter to walk around it, which led 
me to think that it must be longer. Four gates are 
guarded by Turkish soldiers — the Damascus gate on the 
north, the Zion's gate on the south, St. Stephen's gate 
on the east, and the Jaffa gate on the west. Instead of 
21 * 



246 GATES OF HEAVENLY JERUSALEM. 

a direct passage through these gates, the road runs at 
right-angles, zigzag fashion, so that no carriage or wagon 
could pass through them. At the sides are benches, fre- 
quently filled with tattlers and news-loving loafers. 
" They that sit in the gate speak against me.*' Psalm 
69 : 12. The gates of towns and cities were places of 
concourse and counsel. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom 
when the angels met him ; Boaz sat him in the gate of 
Bethlehem to consult with his kinsmen, " and all the 
people and elders in the gate" were witnesses of his 
generous act. Gen. 19:1; Buth 4 : 11 ; 2 Sam. 19 : 8 ; 
2 Chron. 18 : 9. These gates are opened at sunrise, and 
closed at sunset. All the inhabitants of Jerusalem live 
within the walls, save a few semi-savages that dwell in 
caves and huts at Siloam, on the opposite side of the 
valley of Jehoshaphat. 

The robbers render it unsafe for any one to remain 
outside over night. But when the gates are closed 
at evening, they that are without must remain without. 
Thus, the earthly Jerusalem is still a figure of the hea- 
venly. Once the heavenly gates are closed, there will 
be no more admission. Then, " he that is unjust, let 
him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be 
filthy still ; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous 
still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Blessed 
are they that " enter in through the gates of the city. 
For without are dogs', and sorcerers, and whoremongers, 
and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and 
maketh a lie." Bev. 22 : 11 and 15. Thus, at each set- 
ting sun the believer is reminded of the closing of Hea- 
ven's gates at the sunset of life. Before David took 
Jerusalem, it was already a fortified city, and its strong 
walls are to this day an indispensable defence against 



NARROW STREETS. 247 

the plundering Bedouins and robbers of the surrounding 
villages, as well as against hyenas, hungry dogs, and 
devouring beasts. 

The area of the city is divided into sections by eleva- 
tions or " mounts," but all these again are on one moun- 
tain. Mount Zion is the highest, and was the fortified 
place, or stronghold of Zion, which David took from the 
Jebusites, "and called it The city of David." 2 Sam. 5. 
Declining eastward, it ends in a small valley separating 
it from Mount Moriah, which is considerably lower. 
Northward are two more elevations, Mount Akra and 
Mount Bezetha. These hills, all again sloping toward 
the valley of Kedron, give the holy city an uneven sur- 
face. The streets are crooked and narrow, and unevenly 
paved with large stones. The strength of the walls and 
towers, and the beauty of the palaces of this part of the 
city, were the pride of the Jewish nation. " Walk about 
Zion, and go round about her ; tell the towers thereof. 
Mark ye well her bulwarks ; consider her palaces ; that 
ye may tell it to the generations following." Psalm 48 : 
12-13. Passing through a certain part of the city one 
day, a camel which got tired of his burden and laid him- 
self across the street, blocked up the tide of people 
therein. My night adventures abounded with collisions, 
now against a projecting stone or the step of a house, 
then kicking upon a donkey or his sleeping master. Men 
were stretched in the streets, asleep close along the 
houses, heaving long deep breaths, as if on beds of softest 
ease. One night we attended religious services in a 
retired part of Mount Zion. The narrow path led us 
through between buildings over hills, like the recent ex- 
cavations of cellars, all being heaps of rubbish and debris 
of the ruined city. The houses are built after the usual 



248 



THE HEAVENLY GATE. 



Eastern style, presenting only bare walls without windows 
along the street, with a door leading to the open court in 
the centre, and from this into all the rooms. Few pas- 
sages in the Gospel are more frequently forced upon the 
attention of the traveller than that of the straight gate, 
and the narrow way, in Matthew 7 : 13-14. Whether 
you enter a house, mosque, or chapel, you must often 
stoop very low to pass through the door. And the streets 
of the towns are often so narrow, that you have to press 
close up to the wall to allow a loaded camel to pass you; 
and sometimes when they have a larger pack than usual, 
they even stick fast between the walls of the houses. So 
those who would enter the gate of Christ's Kingdom, 
must stoop in deep humility and self-abasement ; and 
those who would reach heaven are not allowed to take 
much of the forbidden and useless luggage of sinful plea- 
sures with them, or they will be subject to constant 
annoyances, and never get through to the heavenly city. 
"Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way 
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." 
More easily entered is the "wide gate," and more freely 
travelled the "broad way," but they lead to the wrong 
place. 

During our visit to Jerusalem the streets were swarming 
with pilgrims ; in all, about 15,000 of these "strangers" 
were there. These usually lodge in their respective con- 
vents. The few cafes — coffee-houses — were crowded 
with them, sipping their tiny cups, and smoking long 
pipes. Many have a filthy, ragged, and repulsive look ; 
some are old and infirm, with whom a pilgrimage is in- 
tended as the crowning act of life. The whole comprises 
a concourse of diverse people like that of Pentecost, 
" Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in 



SACRED LOCALITIES. 



249 



Mesopotamia, and in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus 
and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia in Egypt, and in the 
parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome." 
Acts 2 : 9—10. When these are gone, Jerusalem is very 
dull and quiet. 

In the street running from the Via Dolorosa past Cal- 
vary towards the Jaffa gate, are most of the bazaars, 
where the merchant sits in a large window and sells to 
purchasers in the street. The Via Dolorosa extends 
from near St. Stephen's gate on the edge of Kedron, up 
the hill past the Latin Convent. It is called the Way 
of Sorrow, because the Saviour is supposed to have carried 
His cross through it. An impression in the wall is shown 
where, fainting under His burden, He sank over against 
it. At another place a chapel marks the spot where He 
was scourged. Even the houses of the rich man and 
Lazarus are still pointed out. 

The Poets and Prophets of the Bible speak of Jerusa- 
lem with such rapturous praise, that one vainly hopes to see 
its ancient glory glimmer through its ruins. It is hard 
to shake off one's notions of its former splendor. The 
present walls doubtless give a pretty correct picture of 
their predecessors. We have no reliable pattern of any 
of the Jewish temples, but with the aid of the Bible and 
Josephus we can replace them with tolerable fullness. 
The latter tells us that the temple of our Saviour's time 
stood in the midst of the inmost court (where the Mosque 
of Omar now stands). " Now the outward face of the 
temple, in its front, wanted nothing that was likely to 
surprise either men's minds or their eyes ; for it was 
covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and 
at the first rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery 
splendor, and made those who forced themselves to look 



250 



ANCIENT JERUSALEM. 



upon it to turn their eyes away, just as they would have 
done at the sun's own rays. But this temple appeared 
to strangers, when they were coming to it at a distance, 
like a mountain covered with snow; for as to those parts 
of it that were not gilt they were exceeding white." 
Besides, the city had palaces fitted up in regal splendor. 
What these looked like we have no means of ascertaining. 
Certain it is that they constituted the chief ornament of 
the city, and the most magnificent of them seem to have 
been on Mount Zion. " Beautiful for situation, the joy 
of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the 
north, the city of the great King. God is known in her 
palaces for a refuge." Their splendor was the pride of 
kings and the evidence of Jerusalem's greatness and 
power. In the golden age of the Jewish nation "Peace 
was within her walls, and prosperity within her palaces.''' 
Psalm 122. These monuments of Religion and Art have 
all been swept away in the general ruin of the city. The 
15,000 inhabitants of Jerusalem live on a heap of ruins. 
At first sight it has the appearance of all eastern cities, 
and at a distance prettier than many of them. But a 
closer inspection reveals its true character, and gives it 
the appearance of a city which has been burnt down in 
some great conflagration. The streets and dwellings are 
on the ancient ruins of houses, aqueducts, pillars and 
palaces, at some places from thirty to forty feet deep. 
When the Protestant church on Mount Zion was built, 
they had to dig through forty feet of the old mouldering 
city to lay the foundation. The streets and buildings of 
the ancient Jerusalem are buried beneath the ruins of 
her seventeen captures. Many parts of the present Gity 
rest on the house-tops of its predecessors, where " The 
stones of the sanctuary are poured out on the top of every 



hezekiah's pool. 



251 



street." Lam. 4:1. " They have laid Jerusalem on 
heaps." Psalm 79 : 1. 

This accounts for the prevalent scepticism respecting 
the alleged holy places within the walls of Jerusalem. 
But a very few of these can be identified with any de- 
gree of certainty. Should the city ever fall into the 
hands of Christian Powers again, some future enterpris- 
ing Layard may excavate streets, temples, palaces, and 
dwellings, — remains far more curious and interesting 
than even those of Nineveh, — and restore the plan and 
outline of the city in her original glory. 

One of the few relics of the Hebrew age is the pool 
of Hezekiah, between the Jaffa gate and the Holy Sepul- 
chre. A row of houses hides it from the street. We 
passed through the office of a Mohammedan banker, 
where a man had a piece of white linen spread on the 
counter, on which he performed his devotions without 
being in the least disturbed by our presence. Immedi- 
ately in the rear was the pool, measuring 240 feet one 
way and 144 the other. "Hezekiah made a pool, and 
a conduit, and brought water into the city." 2 Kings 
20 : 20. " Hezekiah also stopped the upper water- 
course of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the 
west side of the city of David." 2 Chron. 32 : 30. The 
pools of Jerusalem are among the most reliable remains 
of its antiquities. 

One day we employed a converted Jew, who led us 
to a subterranean lake or basin, which he called the 
Golden Well. We passed through a miry stable, and 
then down a damp, inclined, narrow passage, winding 
hither and thither, till we reached the edge of the basin. 
It contained sweet water, and as near as I could see by 
the aid of our dim tapers from the edge of it, is from 75 



252 



jerbmiah's cave. 



to 100 feet square. While there, some one dropped a 
bucket on its dark surface from an unseen hole above, 
to draw water, showing that it was in use. Our guide 
told us that the wells and pools of Jerusalem would fur- 
nish enough water for any length of time, in the event 
of another siege. But nearly all this water is brought 
from without, through underground aqueducts. The 
Mosque of Omar is supplied from the pools of Solomon, 
and the pool of Hezekiah from the upper pool of Gihon. 
To obstruct the aqueducts would, of course, cut off the 
water. 

With the same experienced guide, who had been here 
for many years, we walked around the city. Soon after 
we had passed through the Damascus gate, we came to 
Jeremiah's cave, in which he is said to have been impris- 
oned. Jer. 38. A large, projecting rock forms a chamber 
under it, hedged in by a wall. We had scarcely knocked 
at the door, when the porter already commenced a vio- 
lent hubbub inside of the wall for bucksheesh. A few 
vegetables were growing within. The cave receded under 
the rock forty or fifty feet, and is about the same in 
width. It is said that anciently the mouth of the cave 
was on the top of the rock, but this has been broken 
away, so that one can walk in on level ground. That 
the sorrowful prophet wrote his Lamentations here is 
only a conjecture, and most likely will remain such. 

We next crawled, backward down, through a small 
hole in the city wall, near the Damascus gate, into the 
vast quarries and vaults under Jerusalem. After light- 
ing our tapers, we descended over heaps of debris, across 
gullies, and around dark holes, and peered into black 
yawning abysses. Stones of enormous size lay scattered 
about, some partly dressed, which looked as if the work- 



SUBTERRANEAN RESEARCHES. 253 

men had just left them to get their . dinners. These im- 
mense blocks had been cut down from the roof, thus 
forming vast arches with a solid rock ceiling, and here 
and there a remaining block left to support it. The 
ceiling, in many places, must be from twenty to thirty 
feet above the floor. We found large heaps of stone 
chips, cut off in dressing them, which shows that they 
were finished for the wall before being taken out of the 
quarries. "And the house, when it was in building, was 
built of stone made ready before it was brought thither." 
1 Kings 6:7. I feel persuaded that this quarry fur- 
nished some of the grey stones for the temple, and those 
remaining here may have been cut for the same purpose. 
The marks are still visible in the ceiling, where the last 
side of the blocks was wrought loose. We came to a 
well of water slightly brackish. The guide said we 
passed under the temple, and that he had roamed through 
these caverns for long hours without ever coming to an 
end. Over this vast cavern modern Jerusalem is built. 
Cautiously wandering hither and thither, ever watchful 
of yawning precipices, we groped through these dark 
labyrinths for three-quarters of an hour, when our wan- 
ing tapers admonished us quickly to seek the light of 
day, or we might be left in endless night. Even the 
guides must be wide awake to find the way back with 
lights, and without these one would be hopelessly lost. 
It is no exaggeration to suppose that the whole city 
could be stowed into these quarries under it. 

The ancient historians, Strabo and Tacitus, speak of a 
subterranean Jerusalem, whose centre was under the 
temple, whence it branched out in all directions under 
the city. And Josephus tells us that when Jerusalem 
was besieged by Titus, great multitudes of Jews within 
22 



254 CAPTURE OF SIMON THE TYRANT. 



the city hid themselves in these caverns. One of their 
leaders, Simon the Tyrant, "took the most faithful of his 
friends with him, among them some that were stone- 
cutters, with those iron tools which belong to their occu- 
pation," in the hope that they might cut their way out 
underneath the wall. When they failed in this, he "put 
on a white frock," and came up " out of the ground 
where the temple had formerly been," with the hope of 
frightening the Romans by personating an apparition ; 
but he failed, and was captured. A large part of this 
underground Jerusalem was covered with pools and 
basins of water, to which the above Golden "Well no doubt 
belonged. Thus, as Tacitus has it, the city within the 
walls is converted into a perennial fountain, while the 
country outside is without any water, save what it gets 
from the pool of Siloam. When the besiegers of Titus 
tried to get water here for their army, the Jews rushed 
upon them through a vault from under the city, until 
their way was finally closed up. As yet very little is 
known of the fundamental part of Jerusalem. You hear 
reports of grand arches and vaults under the city, 
supported by a thousand columns; of pools, and a well 
of living water under the temple, but the half has not 
been explored. Still the country around Jerusalem de- 
pends for its w 7 ater upon pools and wells within the wall. 
Siloam gets its water from beneath the temple, as Dr. 
Robinson has shown ; and, if this be cut off, no army of 
besiegers can live any length of time outside of the city. 

From here we proceeded eastward, down to the St. 
Stephen's gate. Near it is another reservoir, called the 
Sheep Pool. Along the eastern and western sides of the 
city are Mohammedan burying -grounds, with " whited 
sepulchres" and numerous grave-stones. Along this side 



"the golden gate." 



255 



runs the Valley of Kedron, beginning above the northern 
wall, sloping gradually down into a ravine, which at the 
temple reaches the depth of 100 feet. The bottom of 
the valley is about 150 yards wide. It has a pebbly water- 
course, but no water in it, save when heavy winter- 
showers send it. The wall runs near along the edge of 
the valley. At the temple enclosure is a walled-up gate, 
called after " the Grolden Gate " of the old temple. Tra- 
dition says our Saviour made His final entrance through 
here. The Mohammedans have a tradition that the king 
who is to capture Jerusalem the next time will enter 
through this gate, and hence they keep it closed. Above 
the gate a horizontal pillar projects out of the wall. 
The followers of Mohammed, in common with the Jews, 
hold that the final judgment is to take place in the Valley 
of Jehoshaphat ; that their prophet and Christ are to be 
the judges ; that the former is to sit on this pillar in the 
wall, and the latter to stand on the Mount of Olives. 
In the days of Christ there was a wall along the edge of 
the valley here, where the court of the temple touched 
it, several hundred feet in height, to build up the level 
terrace of the temple-court. Here was " the pinnacle 
of the temple" on which Satan took our Saviour, and 
requested him to cast himself down into the deep valley. 
Matt. 4 : 5, 6. Josephus says the valley here was very 
deep, ''insomuch that if any one looked down from the 
top of the battlement, or down both these altitudes, he 
would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to such 
an immense depth." 

Southward from here the valley becomes deeper, and 
its sides more abrupt. This part of it is the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat. On the eastern bank are the tombs of 
Jehoshaphat, Absalom, St. James, Zacharias, and others. 



256 ABSALOM'S GRAVE. 

The Turks, when they pass the tomb of Absalom, cast a 
stone at it, with a curse upon him and all others who 
disobey their parents. A number of stone-heaps have 
thus been accumulated to perpetuate a curse upon his 
memory. A little higher up, on the lower slope of the 
Mount of Olives, is the Jewish cemetery, in which are 
many graves, covered with flat stones, containing inscrip- 
tions in Hebrew. To be buried here, or as near to it as 
possible, is the pious wish of every faithful Jew. For 
here, near and in sight of the temple, their fathers of 
old were buried ; and here they await the eventful day 
of prophecy, as they read it, when the Lord " shall stand 
upon the Mount of Olives," and it ''shall cleave in the 
midst thereof," and the dead shall rise from beneath it, 
and all nations shall be judged. Zechariah 14. On the 
opposite bank is a Mohammedan burial-ground ; for the 
Turks also consider this a favorite place of interment. 
The lower bed of the valley is rarely reached by the sun. 
The lofty Olivet shuts it out from morning till noon ; and 
in the afternoon Jerusalem, with its high wall, throws a 
darkening shade over it. It is the deep dark valley 
through which we must pass in going from the earthly 
Jerusalem to the Mount of Ascension. For this reason 
David alludes figuratively to it, when he speaks of walk- 
ing "through the valley of the shadow of death." Psalm 
23 : 4. 

This valley turns westward around the southern end 
of Jerusalem, where is the village of Siloam, whose few 
tenants dwell in excavated tombs and rude huts. Then 
the bed of the valley widens into the green, well-culti- 
vated King's garden, where figs, pomegranates, and 
vegetables grow in abundance. Near the base of the 
hill we came to the upper pool of Siloam, or Fountain 



THE POOL OF SILOAM. 



257 



of the Virgin. Thirty-six steps lead down to the water's 
edge ; the bottom of the pool being ten or fifteen feet lower 
than the bed of the valley. It is fifteen feet long and five 
or six wide. It is said to be " the King's pool " of which 
Nehemiah speaks. " The walls of Jerusalem, which were 
broken down," passed along the base of the hill, near 
the pool ; and, the valley narrowing from here upward, 
the stone heaps would naturally block it up. " Then I 
went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the King's 
pool : but there was no place for the beast that was 
under me to pass." Neh. 2 : 14. 

A little further down, we came to the Scriptural pool 
of Siloam, 53 feet long, 18 wide, and 19 deep. The 
water of both these pools is sweet, and comes through a 
subterranean passage from the temple, or Mosque of 
Omar. It ripples down over the bed of the valley, and 
waters the King's garden. Its position, at the southern 
slope of Mount Zion, helps one clearly to identify it. 
Under the direction of Nehemiah, u Shallum repaired the 
wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and 
unto the stairs that go down from the city of David." 
Neh. 3 : 15. "Go wash in the pool of Siloam" our 
Saviour said to the blind man. John 9 : 7. And, per- 
haps, " the eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam 
fell," perished here. Luke 13 : 4. 

The whole of Mount Zion was included in the ancient 
city, the wall running near to its base ; the present wall 
extends over the top, placing a large part of it outside. 
Part of the level top is cultivated, and part is used for 
Christian cemeteries. Peter, in his Pentecostal sermon, 
speaks of David, and says : " His sepulchre is with us 
unto this day." On the uninhabited top of Mount Zion, 
is a stone building surmounted by a minaret, in which 
22* ' E 



258 SUPPOSED TOMB OF DAVID. 

Jews and Mohammedans believe to have found the tomb 
of David. Here, too, some place the scene of the last 
supper. It is called the Mosque of the Tomb of David, 
at whose door we vainly knocked for admission. The 
grave of the sweet singer of Israel is somewhere on this 
Mount Zion, for he " was buried in the city of David," 
which was built on it. 1 Kings 2 : 10. There he sleeps 
with " his fathers/' and with Solomon his son (1 Kings 
11 : 43) ; but their dust has been lost, and their places 
built and ploughed over. 

' Passing along, we noticed a man trying to plough with 
an ass and a heifer. It was a sorry task to yoke such 
an unequal pair together. The heifer slipped the yoke, 
and the enraged Arab bounded after her into a wheat- 
field, then tried to pull her back at the horns. When 
he adjusted the yoke, the sage donkey walked out of the 
other end, and so the ill-yoked pair jerked hither and 
thither to the great annoyance and rage of their driver. 
Such a team was forbidden to the Jews (Deut. 22 : 10) ; 
and Paul applies the figure to the more solemn yokings 
of uncongenial pairs in wedlock, when he warns the Co- 
rinthians not to be " unequally yoked with unbelievers." 
2 Cor. 6 : 14. 

Wherever there is sufficient ground over the rocks of 
Mount Zion outside of the wall, the needy tenants of the 
Holy City try to raise their bread. Ploughed fields, 
wheat, barley, vegetables, a few trees, and bare rocks, 
now cover a place once resplendent with regal glory. 
" Therefore, shall Zion for your sake, be ploughed as a 
field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the moun- 
tain of the house as the high places of the forest." 
Micah 3 : 12. How these hills and ruin-heaps teem 
with fulfilled prophecy ! 



EN-KO GEL. 



259 



At the southern base of Mount Zion the Valley of Je- 
hoshaphat joins that of Hinnom, which runs along the 
western side of the city. A short distance below their 
junction is En-rogel, sometimes called the well of Job, 
or the well of Nehemiah. It is 125 feet deep, walled up 
with large square stones, and at this time was pretty well 
filled with sweet" fresh water. The Arabs say that when 
En-Rogel is well filled with water in the spring, the year 
will be fruitful. Its waters are not adequate for the 
wants of a besieging army. There is a small building 
over the mouth of it, in which are a few stone water- 
troughs. The name En-Rogel occurs twice in the Bible. 
In 2 Sam. 17 : 17, where Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed 
at En-Rogel, to evade the rebellious Absalom ; and in 
1 Kings 1 : 9, where another rebellious son of David 
" slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of 
Zoheleth, which is by En-Rogel, and called all his brethren 
the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's ser- 
vants." The little plain, with olives around the well, 
would still furnish a very suitable spot for such an 
occasion. 

"We now went northward in the Valley of Hinnom, 
climbing along its western bank, where we came to Acel- 
dama, "the potter's field to bury strangers in," bought 
with "the price of blood," which Judas got for betraying 
our Saviour. Acts 1 : 19. We entered a few tombs, con- 
sisting of chambers cut out of the solid rock, with a com- 
mon-sized door to enter. The ceiling of one contained 
a few rude paintings, apparently of priests. Asses and 
goats sought shade and shelter in some of them, just as 
cattle were kept and fed in the cave or stable in which 
our Saviour was born. Perpendicular rocks rise out of 
terraces, where you can walk into the tombs on the level 



260 



GEHENNAH. 



ground. An ancient charnel-house in ruins is the only 
building found here. This ground has been used for the 
last 800 or 1000 years " to bury strangers in," and for 
a long while after our Saviour's crucifixion it was used 
for the same purpose. Some of the terraces were green 
with wheat and grass, and a few olive trees grew on 
others, giving it a more cheerful appearance than its 
origin would seem to warrant. From here we again 
descended into the Valley of Hinnom, or rather Grehen- 
nah, as this part is called. Here, from the junction of 
the two valleys northward the idolatrous Jews made 
" their sons and their daughters pass through the fires 
of Moloch." 2 Kings 23: 10; Jer. 7 : 31. To prevent the 
recurrence of similar idolatries, it was made the recep- 
tacle of all the refuse of the city ; heaps of vile carcasses 
were brought hither reeking with worms and putrefac- 
tion, and a fire was kept burning day and night to destroy 
its vitiating and pestilential effects on the atmosphere. 
Isaiah 30 : 33. Thus what in former ages was, according 
to Milton, "the pleasant valley of Hinnom," became the 
emporium of pollution and a type of the place of future 
torment. " The worm that dieth not, and the fire that is 
not quenched," is a figure borrowed from the quenchless 
fire and the maggots and worms which incessantly revelled 
among the vile refuse of Grehennah. Here a vile cloud of 
smoke ascended by day and by night, which was like the 
sufferings of the damned, the smoke of whose " torments 
shall rise up forever and ever." In the course of time 
the decay of animals strewed the valley with a vast quan- 
tity of bones. It was " the valley which was full of bones " 
in Ezekiel's vision. They were all bare, and bleached, 
without flesh, sinews, and skin, "dry bones," which the 
breath of life inspired with vitality, — an image of the 



MOHAMMEDAN CEMETERY. 



261 



life-giving power of the Gospel. Ezek. 37. The bed of 
the valley is now covered with a soft grassy carpet, and the 
atmosphere is pure and pleasant. Indeed, this whole val- 
ley of Hinnom looks more green and cheerful than that 
of the Kedron, showing that here, as in the moral world, 
the predicted life has really come. 

At the northern end of Gehennah a wall stretches across 
the narrow bed of the valley, over which passes a road. 
Robinson thinks that this wall formed a dam in the val- 
ley called " the lower pool " of Gihon. Isaiah 22 : 9. 
The valley is here about 100 feet deep, its depth dimin- 
ishing as you proceed northward. South-west from here 
is the so-called house of Caiphas, and near it a tree on 
which Judas is said to have hanged himself. Passing the 
Jaffa gate we proceeded ten minutes above it to the upper 
pool of Gihon, from which Hezekiah brought water to his 
pool within the city. Is. 7 : 3 ; 36 : 2 ; 2 Kings 18 : 17. 
It is in the upper shallow basin of Hinnom, where it 
slopes and spreads away into a common level with the 
stony surface of the surrounding region. Along the west- 
ern wall is another Mohammedan cemetery. Turning 
around the northern wall we passed along the common 
road to the Damascus gate. Jews, Christians, and Mo- 
hammedans, all bury their dead outside of the city, just 
as our Saviour "suffered without the gate," where he 
also was buried. John 19 : 41 ; Hebrews 13 : 12. This 
then is the natural situation of Jerusalem : on the east, 
south, and west it is surrounded by the valleys of Ke- 
dron, Jehoshaphat, and Hinnom. It can only be ap- 
proached from these sides by coming up a hill out of the 
valleys. On the north it has no valley. The surface of 
the country in this direction presents a gradual rise from 
the Damascus gate. The valleys form a fork not unlike 



262 



SCENE OP THE ASCENSION. 



intrenchments dug around three sides of a place with 
their ground all heaped between them. This being 
hedged in on three sides, pressing the city within fixed 
limits, may account for the expression, " Jerusalem is 
builded as a city that is compact together." Psalm 
122 : 3. 

Jerusalem is itself on a mountain with mounts within 
it. We read that " As the mountains are round about 
Jerusalem, so is the Lord round about His people." 
Psalm 125 : 2. There are mountains rising out of these 
ravines or valleys which form a breastwork on three 
sides. But Jerusalem itself is higher than two of these. 
No mountains interrupt the view of the city as you ap- 
proach it from the north, south, and west, always being 
higher than its neighboring hills. On the east however, 
the Mount of Olives rises 180 feet above Mount Zion. 
From the summit of Olivet, over against the temple, tra- 
dition says our Lord ascended to Heaven. South of this, 
opposite the well of Nehemiah or En-Rogel, is another 
summit, called the Mount of Offence, by many supposed 
to be "the hill that is before Jerusalem" on which 
Solomon committed idolatry. 1 Kings 11 : 7. Between 
these two summits the principal road to Bethany, Jericho, 
and the Jordan, crosses the mountain. There is a path 
over the top, which is nearer but less used. 

One pleasant day we left our lodgings in the street of 
Sorrow for a stroll over the lovely Olivet, for such it is to 
this day. Near the St. Stephen's gate we paused a few 
moments to look at the pool of Bethesda. "There is at 
Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which in the Hebrew 
is called Bethesda, having five porches." John 5:2. It 
is above the northern wall of the temple enclosure, and 
now about 75 feet deep, formerly it was perhaps deeper, 



GARDEN OF OLIVET. 



263 



since a great part has been filled up with rubbish. Two 
high arches run under the houses on the west side, which 
may possibly correspond to some of its ancient " porches." 
It was perfectly dry, and a donkey was grazing on its 
weedy bottom. Recent travellers, among the rest Dr. 
Robinson, dispute its identity with the Bethesda of the 
Gospel, but so it is called, and I believe not without 
reason. There is no longer any water in it, as in the 
days of Christ, when the angel came down to move it for 
the healing of the sick. 

The Mount of Olives is immediately opposite the 
Temple. From here across the Kedron to Gethsemane 
Christ had to go several hundred yards down a steep 
bank or hill. The garden lies at the base of Olivet along 
the edge of the brook. In the golden age of the Hebrew 
nation this side of the Mount abounded with shady groves 
and served as the park of the city. The narrow streets 
of Eastern cities renders an open shady place of resort 
very necessary to the comfort of their inhabitants. Many 
of the strangers attending the Jewish festivals at Jerusa- 
lem had to lodge outside of the walls. It was impossible 
that the several hundred thousand pilgrims which assem- 
bled at such times, should find room within the city. 
When.it was too crowded on such occasions, the shady 
quiet retreat of Olivet became a favorite resort for plea- 
sure, devotion, or rest. Up along its uneven ascent from 
the brook of Kedron to the summit, numerous tents were 
doubtless dotted through the thick olive groves. From 
here they could see the whole city ; the people reclining 
and chatting on the house-tops, and the Roman soldiers 
brandishing their clattering arms to quell the turbulent 
Pharisees and Sadducees in the crowded streets. The 
temple with its dazzling front stood clearly in view, and 



264 JESUS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 



the devout throng pressing around its gates and through 
its courts, was seen from the mount. They could see the 
cloud of incense curling heavenward from the altar of 
sacrifice, and hear the singers sing their psalms of praise. 
Olivet was, therefore, the most convenient encamping 
place for those who found no room in the city. Our 
Saviour but submitted to this common necessity when He 
repaired to the Mount of Olives in the evening, either to 
lodge with His friends at Bethany, on the eastern slope 
of Olivet, about two miles from Jerusalem, or in the open 
air with many others. 

When He was tired of the' hypocritical and cavilling 
Jews, who annoyed Him with questions and jealous re- 
proaches, He went out to the mountain to pray, where 
He could be alone. He had often resorted to the leafy 
solitude of Gethsemane, for His enemies knew that He 
had gone there the night of His betrayal, without being 
told: "Judas knew the place, for Jesus oftentimes re- 
sorted thither with His disciples." John 18 : 2. "In the 
day-time He was teaching in the temple, and at night 
He went out and abode in the mount, that is called the 
Mount of Olives." Luke 21 : 37. One morning, "rising 
up a great while before day, He went out and departed 
into a solitary place and there prayed," His "head filled 
w T ith dew, and His locks with the drops of the night." 
Song of Sol. 5 : 2. This was most probably the same 
mount. Mark 1 : 35. 

It was a pleasant relief to get out of the noisy streets 
of Jerusalem, crowded with 15,000 strangers, to medi- 
tate on Olivet. The old olives were vocal with the songs 
of many birds, and the green slopes of the mount stood 
out in cheerful contrast to the dreary ruins of the city, 
and the arid plain of the Jordan, which is seen from its 



I 



GETHSEMANE. 



265 



summit. Here I always found a tree to offer its leafy 
canopy for shade, and a solemn stillness to aid medita- 
tion. 

At the road-side, scarcely 150 feet from the bridge 
across the Kedron, is a square piece of ground enclosed 
by a stone wall ten or twelve feet high. The Gethse- 
mane of the Bible doubtless extended over an area of 
several acres along here, but that sweet name is at pre- 
sent applied to this enclosure. I have no doubt it is a 
remnant of it. After a few earnest raps at a little door 
in the rear wall, a monk with shaven head, and coarse 
brown loose habit, and a cord around the waist, unlocked 
from within and bade us come in. It was a " straight " 
or low gate, and required a stooping posture to enter. 
The garden is laid out in beds, planted with flowers and 
aromatic plants. These told me a grateful story of the 
Saviour's agony here, and how He seems ail the more 
sweet and lovely for having been bruised. 

"As aromatic plants bestow 
No spicy fragrance "while they grow, 
But crushed and trodden to the ground, 
Diffuse their spicy sweets around." 

In strange and severe contrast to these pretty sweet 
scented plants were eight very large olive trees, like old 
patriarchs, around whose wrinkled gnarly trunks and 
roots the tender plants of a season spread in rich profu- 
sion. Eminent naturalists compute their age at 2000 
years. Their rough rind and aged features make them 
look different from any olive trees that I have seen here 
or elsewhere. The wall was made to protect them, and 
the saintly sentinel lives in a small lodge in the corner 
of the garden beneath their shade, and spends his days in 
23 



266 



BETRAYAL OF CHRIST. 



nursing their declining and protracted life, and preserve 
them as the hallowed relics that have witnessed the Sa- 
viour's agony in Gethsemane. Their gnarled trunks and 
greyish foliage points them out as the most affecting of 
the sacred memorials around the Holy City, and the 
most venerable of their race in the world. 

At the lower end of the garden was a trellice-work 
spun over with a vine, forming a shady arbor, under 
which are a few short benches, where pilgrims sit and 
meditate. The Turks have thrown together a heap of 
stones, to mark the spot where Judas betrayed Christ, as 
accursed for all times. 

The monk keeps a sacred watch over every object on 
this hallowed ground. He allowed us to gather a few 
loose olive leaves scattered on the ground, and on my 
last visit he gave me a small bunch of flowers as a part- 
ing gift. 

Here " being in agony He prayed more earnestly, and 
His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling 
down to the ground." Was ever ground so hallowed by 
Divine Sorrow for the guilty and the lost ! Here He 
knelt, trembled, and prayed, while His tired, weak disci- 
ples were too much exhausted to watch with Him, "sleep- 
ing for sorrow." Perhaps the soft night air stirred a 
gentle rustling among the leafy trees while He agonized 
with half audible groans. Then came Judas and the 
multitude, with swords, and staves, and the betrayer's 
kiss. Matt. 26 : 36-49. 

Every believer should have a little Gethsemane in his 
heart, whither his spirit flees to agonize and wrestle in 
bitter sin-conflicts. The dreadful garden comes before 
Calvary in our spiritual history, as well as in the Sa- 
viour's trials. And well is it for all occasionally to seek 



DAVID'S SORROW. 



267 



the calm hush of the spirit's Gethsemane to pray, and 
with wrestling preparation to nerve themselves for greater 
trials still to come. 

The Mount of Olives is not often mentioned in the Old 
Testament. When Absalom rebelled, " David went up 
by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up ; 
and he went barefoot : and all the people that was with 
him covered every man his head, and they went up, weep- 
ing as they went up." 2 Sam. 15 : 30. When he had 
come to the top of the mount, he worshipped God, where 
Hushai the Archite came to meet him. "A little past 
the top of the hill, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met 
him with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two 
hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of 
raisins, and an hundred of summer fruit, and a bottle of 
wine." And as he went down on the other side, "Shhnei 
went along on the hill-side over against him, and cursed 
as he went, and threw stones at him and cast dust." 
2 Sam. 16. 

On a certain spring morning, the season when turtles 
are wont to coo from the grey olive branches, and the 
fig-tree putteth forth its leaves ; when flowers and fresh 
dewy grass diffuse a pleasant fragrance over Olivet, our 
Saviour came up from Bethany to Jerusalem for the last 
time. He came with a great caravan of Jews from Gali- 
lee, who were ^coming to the feast of the Passover. 
Doubtless many had joined them at Bethany to escort 
the great Prophet who had raised Lazarus, their towns- 
man, from the dead, to Jerusalem. The numerous Jews 
already at Jerusalem, having heard of his approach, 
came out to meet him. Going along the road some cut 
down palm branches for wreaths of triumph. Perhaps 
the two tides met somewhere near the summit, where all 



268 



THE "STRONGHOLD OF DAVID." 



fell in with the large triumphal procession, some going 
before and casting their palm branches in his way, others 
carpeting the road with their loose outer garments or 
blankets. Just where the road crosses the top it turns 
around a projecting bluff, where suddenly Mount Zion 
comes to view. Though now a part is a "ploughed 
field," and the buildings within the wall are of an ordi- 
nary exterior, this sudden surprise is, to this day, start- 
ling, and even imposing. The mount is crowned with 
the castle of Herod, where then the palace of David 
stood. On Mount Zion was that part of Jerusalem called 
"the city of David;" and its strongly fortified position 
gave it the name of "the stronghold of David." Here 
"nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion: the 
same is the city of David." 2 Sam. 5 : 7. Palaces and 
costly buildings graced Mount Zion to its base in the 
valley of Jehoshaphat. It was a grand sight to behold this 
regal citadel from any point. There was no place like 
it. " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, 
is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the 
great King." Psalm 48 : 2. To the pious Jew, coming 
to the annual feasts, approaching the Holy City over 
the Mount of Olives, the first view of it was enchant- 
ing. When the old Sclavonians, returning from battle, 
got the" first glimpse of their proud and splendid metro- 
polis, the whole army burst out with one wild, simulta- 
neous shout, Ifoscoiv. Once a mighty German army, 
returned from a victorious battle-field, and as its thou- 
sands of brave hearts reached the top of the vine-clad 
hills which overlook the Rhine, they could hold their 
peace no longer, in sight of their noble German river, 
but poured out their roaring song : 

"Am Rhine, am Rhine, da wachsen unsere Reben!" 



Christ's triumphal entry. 269 

As the rear columns reached the hill tops, they caught 
the echoes of the song ; and so, from morn till night, the 
mighty song, "Am Rhine, am Rhine," swelled and 
rolled over its hill-girt shores. When the Crusaders, 
under Godfrey de Bouillon, got their first view of the 
Holy City, on a hill to the north of it, they at once for- 
got all the trials they had endured. The sight moved 
the army like a mighty tempest in the forest ; the wildest 
warriors shed tears of joy, while the whole multitude 
burst forth in a stormy hymn of praise. But far stronger 
and holier was the enthusiasm of the Jew for his Zion. 
Next to the temple, " the city of David " was the pride 
of the Hebrew nation, the monument of their former 
glory and power, and associated with the King whose 
son or descendant was to be the Messiah. When the 
"very great multitude" reached this turning point in 
the road, "at the descent of the Mount of Olives," the 
city of David suddenly burst upon their view. Here, 
most probably, the shout triumphant rose from the vast 
long train, as they crowded around David's greater Son: 
" Hosannah to the son of David. Blessed is he that 
cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the King 
that cometh in the name of the Lord. And the whole 
multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise 
God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they 
had seen." Matt. 21 ; Luke 19. It was too much for 
the envious Pharisees, who asked Him to rebuke His 
enthusiastic disciples. Then, as now, there were many 
loose stones scattered over the mount. He replied: "If 
these should hold their peace, the stones would imme- 
diately cry out." 

Hosannas were still ringing in the rear as the advance 
procession came to another projecting ridge, partly ob- 
23* 



270 



JERUSALEM AT SUNRISE. 



structing the view of the other parts of the city. "When 
the caravan drew its long line over it, the whole city 
stood before them, as 'if suddenly raised by an enchan- 
ter's wand. The morning sun was shining on the golden 
gate of the temple, reflecting a dazzling light, almost 
blinding. Its walls of snowy white rose above the city with 
unheard-of beauty. Towers, walls, gates, pools, palaces, 
streets, in short every feature useful and ornamental 
which gave Jerusalem renown among all nations, stood 
out to view with enchanting splendor. May it not have 
been on this elevation, with this grandest of all earthly 
scenes suddenly before him, and with a knowledge of 
Jerusalem's impending destruction, where " he beheld 
the city and wept over it." Luke 19 : 41. What a spec- 
tacle ! David hurrying up the Mount of Olives, fleeing 
from his city and his ungrateful Absalom ; and Christ 
descending it toward the city, amid the applauding ho- 
sannas of a multitude, to be crucified ! Both shedding 
tears of wounded kindness and of pity for cruel, dis- 
obedient friends ! 

On the top or highest point of the Mount of Olives, 
called the Mount of Ascension, a few Arab huts cluster 
around the traditional spot from which our Lord ascended 
to heaven. The Mohammedans must always have a 
mosque (as indeed oriental Christians have chapels) built 
over every reputed sacred place. Whether it be the 
grave of a saint, or a place connected with his history, 
they must have a small edifice in which to say their 
prayers near his hallowed dust. Admitting Christ to 
have been a great prophet, though not a divine being, 
they even award Him such honors. Among the few, 
humble dwellings on Olivet, is a small Christian chapel, 
and aside of it a small mosque. In the floor of the 



BETHANY AND OLIVET. 



271 



chapel is a bare rock, with an impression somewhat re- 
sembling a footprint, which a credulous piety ascribes to 
Christ ; for it is said to mark the last spot which his 
sacred feet touched before he left the earth. 

Luke (24 : 50) says : " He led them out as far as 
Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them/' 
and then ascended to heaven. In Acts 1 : 12 we are 
told that, after his resurrection, his disciples returned 
" unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which 
is from Jerusalem a Sabbath-day' 's journey. 1 " Bethany 
is " fifteen' furlongs," or almost two miles from Jerusa- 
lem, while a Sabbath-day's journey is not quite a mile; 
just about the distance between the city and the top of 
Olivet. How then reconcile the two narratives ? Be- 
thany is on the eastern slope of the mount, on the side 
toward the Jordan. There is no doubt that our Saviour 
did proceed to the home of Lazarus and his sisters ; but 
most probably returned again toward Jerusalem until he 
reached the top of the mount from where he ascended. 

I ascended the minaret of the small mosque, a column 
not unlike a furnace chimney, whose view embraces the 
most interesting localities in the world. It was on 
Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath. A large crowd of 
women, all dressed or folded in snow-white linen, were 
strolling over the grassy court, and among the tall cy- 
press trees around the Mosque of Omar, where Solo- 
mon's temple stood. The men crowded the gates to 
worship within. Many women, like persons wrapped in 
spectral sheets^ came to the graves outside of the wall 
to weep over buried friends and children. This was like- 
wise the custom among the ancient Jews. When Mary, 
who had been bereft of Lazarus, went out of the house, 



272 MOUNTAINS OF EPHR AIM AND MOAB. 



her friends said : " She goeth unto the grave to weep 
there." John 11 : 31. 

The view from the minaret was very extensive. East- 
ward, the bleak, desolate wilderness of Judea rolled in 
rough, wave-like undulations down toward Jericho and 
the Jordan. At some places, a green, tortuous line 
marked the serpentine banks of the river; at others, 
nothing but its own treeless, crooked channel pointed 
out its course through the sandy, barren plain, toward 
the Dead Sea. Beyond rose the long, lofty mountain- 
chain of Moab, with just grass enough to give it a faint 
tinge of verdure. In the distant north, I saw the moun- 
tains of Ephraim, with Ebal and Gerizim, where Joshua 
had the blessings and curses proclaimed. Joshua 8. To 
the south-west were the hills of Judea. To the west, 
more than two hundred feet below me, was Jerusalem, 
rising up from Kedron and Jehoshaphat, higher and 
higher, until it culminated in the Protestant Mission 
Church on Mount Zion. Houses, mosques, streets, walls, 
and valleys, in and around it, were most distinctly 
mapped out. 

The Mount of Ascension furnishes the highest acces- 
sible point for seeing Jerusalem. There is no view of 
the Holy City like this. Whenever Christ wished to look 
at the city or temple, he went on Olivet; and thither 
every pilgrim and traveller now repairs who wishes to 
get a good view of it. From here, you can look over 
her walls, and into her streets. Seen from here, the 
deformity of her rubbish and ruins melts away in the 
distance ; the weeds of her widowhood appear fair as a 
bridal robe, and the sun sheds upon her lorn and sad 
condition the soft, pleasant light of mercy and hope. 
'Tis so with the believer's ascension-mount. A clearer 



SINAI AND' ZION. 



273 



and more cheerful sun shines upon objects as seen from 
its summit. Viewed with the ken of the Saviour's 
charity, the soils and imperfections of others melt away 
into hues of purity. Whilst dwelling in the earthly 
Jerusalem, sharing her sorrows and tribulations, her 
ruins and decay disclose marks of sorrow and suffering 
with saddening prominence. But from our ascension- 
mount these will be lost in the lustre of her triumphs, 
and our " abode of peace" will appear without " spot or 
wrinkle or any such thing." Eph. 5 : 27. 

From this mount you see the Dead Sea, — the image 
of desolation and death.; and the temple, under whose 
altar is the "fountain in the house of David, opened for 
sin and uncleanness," — the abode of death and the source 
of life. So when the believer reaches his mount of ascen- 
sion, from which he passes into heaven, he has a view of 
the two worlds, — the world of sin and death, and the 
world of life and purity in heaven. 

What a difference there is between Mount Sinai and 
Mount Zion ! The one bears the stamp of an eternal and 
unchangeable Law. Every peak, cliff, and ravine reveal 
the results of resistless forces. The absence of grass, 
trees, and singing birds, shows that even naturally, 
"Mount Sinai gendereth to bondage," and is under the 
power of a law which worketh death. Mount Zion is 
rich with the music and complexion and joyous hilarity 
of nature. Here the rocks are covered with life, — grass, 
trees, and men. The one is frowning, threatening, and 
commanding, still lifting its stern peak aloft, around 
which the thunders clapped and which the cloud enveloped 
with blackness, when the Law was given ; the other is 
the meekest mount I have ever seen, nursing every thing 
planted on it into life and health. It inspires no feelings 

s 



274 



SCENES ON ZION. 



of dread or fear, but lovingly lures one into the green 
lap it spreads around its base. These mountains are 
symbolical of the covenants made respectively on their 
summits. " For the law was given by Moses, but grace 
and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1 : 17. w For 
ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, 
and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and dark- 
ness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the 
voice of words ; which voice they that heard, entreated 
that the word should not be spoken to them any more : 
But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of 
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innu- 
merable company of angels, . . . and to Jesus the Medi- 
ator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling 
that speaketh better things than that of Abel." Heb. 
12 : 18-24. 

We read that Bethany was " about fifteen furlongs " 
from Jerusalem, (John 11 : 18,) which would be nearly 
two miles. I walked out one day along the usual cara- 
van road, in thirty-five minutes, which would correspond 
with the scriptural distance. Here and there were flou- 
rishing fig trees " in the way." Perhaps along this same 
road our Saviour came from Bethany, when he cursed a 
fig tree. Matt. 21. I sat down under an old olive, near 
the reputed tomb of Lazarus, and read the sweet story 
of him and his sisters. In the meanwhile a few Arab 
children sat quietly at my feet, and spoke in suppressed 
whispers, as if in sympathy with my devout frame of 
mind. The mother of one, wearing heavy metallic brace- 
lets, came out to take her boy home, but first leading 
him before me for " bucksheesh." A trifling para sent 
her and the child away with chattering delight. I asked 
a little girl for a drink, and soon she came with a " cup 



MODERN BETHANY. 



275 



of cold water." how my "heart yearned to lead the 
child to Him who richly rewards such an act, if performed 
"in the name of a disciple" ! Matt. 10 : 42. 

The present village of Bethany contains some twenty 
families. The flourishing fig and pomegranate orchards and 
vineyards to the north of it, and the evident attempts to 
improve the rocky hills, give signs of at least some industry. 
Some of the flat roofs were covered with earth and grass, 
so that it was hard to tell whether the low stone huts 
were under or above ground. These sprinklings of grass 
in the crevices and shallow earth of the roofs are soon 
withered by the hot sun, when the rain ceases. The 
Psalmist wishes his enemies to "be as grass upon the 
house-tops, which withereth afore it groweth up ; where- 
with the mower filleth not his hand." Psalm 129 : 6, 7. 
Its dilapidated and half-miserable aspect is soon forgot- 
ten in its tender history ; for here the three friends of 
Jesus gave Him a home. When He is weary of the 
hypocrisy and temptings of the Pharisees in Jerusalem, 
He finds sympathy and a soothing, still home with Laza- 
v rus and his two sisters. In Bethany we have Jesus as a 
friend among friends, eating and weeping with them, 
mingling in domestic intercourse and friendly companion- 
ship. Here He hallowed Home, and gave hospitality a 
divine significance. His quiet, heavenly visits breathed 
an air of peace and purity around the hearth of Lazarus. 
Mary had been " a sinner," (Luke 7 : 39,) about which 
she wept and sorrowed much. Her sins, which were 
many, He forgave, and therefore " she loved much ; " 
she anointed His feet with precious ointment, and with 
penitent tears still more precious. A sweet friendship 
was kindled between Jesus and this family. "Now 
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." When 



276 



THE STORY OF LAZARUS. 



Lazarus was taken ill, their first thought for help turned 
to their Divine guest. But He is over there at Betha- 
bara, beyond the Jordan. They speedily send for Him. 
" Behold he whom thou lovest is sick." They look wish- 
fully toward the mountains of Moab, near where He 
then was, and anxiously await the return of the messen- 
ger. Lazarus sinks fast, and Jesus is not here. Why 
this delay ? The All-Knowing knows how much we need 
Him. But he dies, only because his friend is absent. 
" Lord, if thou hadst been here ! " " Our friend Lazarus 
sleepeth ; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." 
After four long days He comes, and bids " Lazarus 
come forth ; " but first weeps with Martha and Mary at 
the grave of their brother. What a precious source of 
consolation, that Jesus wept at the grave of a friend ! 
Since then mourners have a Divine companion in sor- 
row, and the tears of bereaved believers are not half so 
distressing. Nothing helps us more to realize the sus- 
taining grace of Jesus in sorrow, than to know that 
He could "weep with them that wept." Those life- 
words of Jesus at the grave of his friend still sound from 
Bethany, like the softest music, to soothe and solace 
earth's weeping mourners. " I am the resurrection and 
the life ; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live." Like a voice from Heaven came these 
words to me under that gnarly olive tree, while a few 
children sat at my feet. When the trials of the cruci- 
fixion cast their shadows over His soul, He tarries a night 
here, and receives sympathy. It is a small matter, but 
very pleasant to me, that a few women in the narrow 
street became types of Mary and Martha to my mind, 
and I seemed to see Lazarus in a young man at work 
near his grave. John 11. 



THE FRUITS OF OLIVET. 



277 



The trees on the Mount of Olives are chiefly olives, " 
pomegranates, and figs. Formerly it also contained 
palm, myrtle, and pine trees. Nehemiah 8 : 15. The 
name of Bethany (house of dates) points to the existence 
of date-palms around it ; and even so late as our Saviour's 
time " branches .of palm-trees " were strewn in His path, 
when He came up from Bethany. But not a sprig of 
these remains. A short distance from Bethany a few 
ruined walls crown a hill, which are the traditional re- 
mains of Bethphage (house of figs). Matt. 21 : 1. The 
fig trees skirting the roads and hanging along the steep 
rocky sides of Olivet still speak of the Saviour. In the 
beginning of April, when all the others were bare yet, 
He met one with large leaves, which always indicate the 
presence of figs ; but it had no fruit, and so he cursed it 
for its hypocrisy ; and when the disciples marvelled at it, 
He declared that the prayer of faith had power even to 
remove this " mountain " (Olivet) into the (Mediterranean) 
"sea." 

We happened to be at Jerusalem in the spring. No 
words could better describe this delightful season than 
those of the Bible. 4; The winter is past, the rain is over 
and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth : the time of the 
sinking of birds is come ; and the voice of the turtle is 
heard in the land. The fig tree putteth forth her green 
figs, and the vines, with the tender grape, give a good 
smell." Song of Sol. 2 : 11-13. Solomon's description 
of a Judean spring would almost answer for one in a 
Pennsylvania latitude. The winter of Palestine, and 
especially of Judea, has for its characteristic the rainy 
seasons, instead of our snow storms and icy colds. "The 
former rain" comes in the fall, beginning toward the 
end of October, and helps to prepare the ground for 
24 



278 



"THE latter rain." 



seeding. It continues until December. During the whole 
winter it rains at certain intervals, and some seasons 
indeed it rains on till " the latter rain," almost without 
intermission. These copious showers tare up the travel- 
ling paths and tracks, and fill them with slippery mud, 
almost impassable along the steep hill-sides. The numer- 
ous ravines or wadys abound with wild rushing torrents, 
and no bridges to cross them. On account of these dan- 
gerous roads our Saviour said, when he foretold the 
destruction of Jerusalem : " But pray ye that your flight 
be not in the winter." Matt. 24 : 20. 

" The latter rain" of the Scripture usually comes in 
March, and continues until April. Deut. 11 : 14 ; Jer. 
5 : 24 ; Joel 2 : 23. Sometimes its accumulated waters 
dash through the narrow valleys of Judea like swollen 
rivers. The Kedron, at other times dry, sends a rush- 
ing torrent to the Dead Sea. In the spring of 1857 we 
arrived at Jerusalem toward the end of the "latter 
rain." At short intervals the sky was clear, serene, and 
balmy as an American June, continuing just long enough 
to coax one outside the walls, when suddenly a thin 
gauzy cloud "would curtain the heavens, and spill its con- 
tents upon the earth. The hilly streets of Jerusalem 
were covered with a layer of mud. In the middle of the 
main streets was an uncovered sewer, draining the mud 
from the slippery sloping side-walks (the whole is equiva- 
lent to a side-walk on each side), where the unpractised 
walker had no little labor to keep out of the gutter. As 
the sun rarely shone into the narrow streets, they would 
not dry between the showers. Now amid this ubiquity 
of mud, where the heavens above and the earth beneath 
are surcharged with water, where every avenue of travel 
and trade is obstructed by water torrents, and roads 



THE SEASONS OP JUDEA. 



279 



•wrought into mortar, we can scarcely conceive of the joy 
which spring brings, w T hen "the rain is over and gone." 
Then Jerusalem is like a swarming hive. Through every 
gate the people pour to get them to their work on hill 
and in dell. Flowers — wild roses, violets, and our own 
dandelion -r- bloom along the Kedron, and among the 
dreary Jewish graves of Jehoshaphat. Every tree on 
Olivet seems vocal w T ith singing birds, to whose sweet melo- 
dies the turtle coos a solemn bass. (The cooing of a dove 
inspires solemn emotions anywhere, but especially in 
sight of Jerusalem and its ruined temple.) Some of the 
fig trees on the Mount of Olives put forth their leaves, 
while others put forth their "green figs" before the 
leaves. The vines on "the mountains round about Jeru- 
salem " (now especially around Bethany) blossom and 
bud into leaves, emitting pleasant odors. 

In Palestine rains are chiefly confined to winter. 
"Snow in summer, and rain in harvest," were things un- 
heard of by the Jews. Prov. 26 : 1. Rain in harvest 
only came by a miracle. 1 Sam. 12 : 17. While Jeru- 
salem and Judea have changed, and their reputed holy 
places excite doubt and embarrassment, the climate and 
many natural phenomena remain as they were in the 
days of Christ. Still the rains come mostly from the 
west and south-west — from the vapory sky of the Medi- 
terranean. Our Saviour said, when at Jerusalem : "When 
ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, 
There cometh a shower; and so it is." Luke 12 : 54. 
Warm and hot winds commonly blow from the vast south- 
ern deserts. All those destructive hot winds, called 
siroccos, blow from the south. " And when ye see the 
south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it 
cometh to pass." Luke 12 : 55. 



280 SHEPHERDS AND THEIR FLOCKS. 



In my peregrinations around Jerusalem I repeatedly 
fell in with shepherds and their flocks. The little shepherd 
village of Siloam, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, has several 
large flocks of sheep, some of which are housed after night 
in tombs, and others are kept in sheep-folds made of frail 
temporary fences, with a " porter" to open, the gates. 
"He that entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, 
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and 
a robber." John 10 : 1. Several mornings I watched 
them going forth across the Mount of Olives toward the 
uncultivated hills of the wilderness of Judea. Invariably 
the shepherd walked before; now and then I heard "his 
voice " calling the sheep, and the long line followed 
without any person driving them. I noticed one very 
large flock ; there were no fences to keep them together, 
yet all "knew his voice," and followed him over rocks 
and ridges to their pasture. "And when he putteth 
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep 
follow him ; for they know his voice. And a stranger 
will they not follow, but will flee from him ; for they 
know not the voice of strangers. . . . My sheep hear 
my voice and I know them, and they follow me." John 
10 : 4, 5, 27. And if the shepherd, when he gets into 
the wilderness of Judea, should perchance find that one 
had strayed away along the road, " he will leave the 
ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which 
is lost until he find it." Luke 15 : 4. 

The sheep here and elsewhere in Palestine are mostly 
of a large breed, with broad tails, consisting of a large 
lump of fat with the tail hanging out of it. In many 
flocks sheep and goats are mixed. Gen. 30 : 35. Goats 
are filthier, and less valuable than sheep. Jesus says, 
when the Son of Man shall come to judge mankind, 



CHRIST AS A SHEPHERD. 281 

" he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd 
divideth his sheep from the goats ; and he shall set the 
sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left." 
Matt. 25 : 32-33. Sinful, erring souls are like lost sheep 
that have gone astray (Psalm 119 : 176) ; and the 
penitents are those who return " to the Shepherd and 
Bishop of their souls." 1 Peter 2 : 25. " Shepherds 
abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by 
night," received the angelic announcement of the Saviour's 
birth, as a helpless child ; shepherds calling their sheep 
to pasture gave Him an image of His character as a 
Divine Shepherd ; Iambs slain in the temple became 
types of Him who was "brought as a lamb to the slaugh- 
ter ; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he 
opened not his mouth." And when He shall appear in 
His glory as the Judge of all the earth, His final sen- 
tence will be like that of a shepherd separating his sheep 
from the goats ; and the redeemed throng in heaven will 
sing : " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." Isaiah 53 : 
7 ; Rev. 5 : 12. What a divine meaning has been given 
to sheep and shepherds since the birth and death of 
Christ ! 



24* 



282 



EXCURSION TO THE DEAD SEA. 



CHAPTER XII. 



April l%th. — The day after the Latin Easter we 
started on a three days' excursion to the Jordan and the 
Dead Sea. A large caravan of Latin pilgrims were like- 
wise going down. At early dawn already they streamed 
down the Yia Dolorosa toward the Kedron — horses, 
donkeys, and wayworn footmen, contending for room in 
the narrow street. After sending our muleteers with 
tents and baggage several hours ahead, we rode out the 
St. Stephen's gate, led by two mounted soldiers, to pro- 
tect us against robbers. Both sides of the road were 
lined with women and children, from the wall down to 
Gethsemane, who had come out to see the pilgrims start. 
The latter rode quietly through these lines of spectators, 
but the women set up a laughing, chattering noise behind 
their white veils, with their heads all muffled up. Wind- 
ing up the oblique road of Olivet, past the gloomy graves 
of Jehoshaphat, we still heard their strange noise. These 
long lines of snow-white beings seated along the edge of 
the road, hailing pilgrims as they passed, presented a 
singular scene from a distance. So the expectant Jews 
sat along the road when they heard that their Messiah 
was coming in a triumphal procession. We passed 
through Bethany, and paused a moment before the tomb 
of Lazarus. On a hill-top beyond the village we turned 



WILDERNESS OF JUDEA. 



283 



our horses to take a last view of the Home of Hospi- 
tality. Descending through a rough valley we came to 
the spring of the Apostles, at the road-side, so called be- 
cause the Apostles rested and refreshed themselves here 
on their way to and from Jerusalem. As there is no other 
spring or well along the road, this tradition is most proba- 
bly correct. In 'an arched niche within a small pile of 
crumbling walls is the fountain, which pours its clear 
water into a stone basin. Along this hot haunted road, 
such a fountain must always have been a noted watering- 
place for travellers and shepherds. 

Our tortuous road descended between bleak hills, 
where flocks of sheep and goats were led to pasture by 
wild-looking Arabs. Rarely a tree was seen, and the 
very small fine grass was so thinly sprinkled over the 
surface, as to give it but a faint tinge of verdure. We left 
the last trace of fertile vegetation at Bethany. No house, 
tent, or village relieved the dreariness, only a few strag- 
gling shepherds with their flocks, who watched our move- 
ments with suspicious mien. It was the sterile unculti- 
vated wilderness of Judea ; not an absolute sterility like 
that of the sandy desert, but a bleak, cheerless solitude, 
with a little grass here and there scarcely visible. This 
is where the hermit prophet, John the Baptist, preached 
repentance. Matt. 3 : 1, 4. The " raiment of camel's hair " 
is still worn among the poorer Arabs, with the "leathern 
girdle about the loins." The locusts which John ate are 
still eaten by the poor, and sometimes also by others. 
Burckhart says : " The Arabs, in preparing locusts as an 
article of food, throw them alive into boiling water, with 
which a good deal of salt has been mixed : after a few 
moments they are taken out and dried in the. sun. The 
head, feet, and wings are then torn off ; the bodies are 



284 



BOBBERS OF THE JORDAN. 



cleansed from the salt and perfectly dried ; after which 
whole sacks are filled with them by the Bedouins. They 
are sometimes eaten broiled in butter ; and they often 
constitute materials for a breakfast, when spread over 
unleavened bread mixed with butter." The wild honey 
is still found in abundance, which is relished very much. 
Wild bees deposit it on the rocks in the wilderness of 
Judea, where John the Baptist found and ate it. 

The road " from Jerusalem to Jericho " is still infested 
by thieves and robbers. They abide in the rock-hewn 
chambers hanging over the Jordan valley, and in the 
gorges of the wilderness. Lurking in the narrow valleys 
crossing the road, they sometimes suddenly pounce on 
their affrighted victims, and strip them of all they have. 
Bedouin banditti, with bold chiefs, such as Barrabas per- 
haps was, for he " was a robber," are the constant terror 
of all the travellers on this road. No party can pass 
along here without a military escort ; not even the large 
caravans of pilgrims, with all their arms and valor. 
This road and region still enjoy their ancient celebrity. 
The long spears and guns of our mounted Turkish guard, 
their watchful look-out for Bedouin robbers, and the pros- 
pect of an attack, furnished us with interesting reflections 
on our Lord's parable of the Good Samaritan. It was along 
this road " a certain man went down from Jerusalem to 
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his 
raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half 
dead." Luke 10 : 30. Several modern travellers have 
literally passed through the same experience. One, 
whose name I cannot now recall, strolled away a short 
distance from his party, when he was seized by a few 
Bedouins, stripped of money and clothing, and cruelly 
beaten. An Arab more merciful than his fellows, a 



THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 



285 



modern " good Samaritan " found him almost lifeless, and 
brought him back to Jerusalem, where the treatment of 
kind friends healed the stranger's wounds. A man left 
wounded and naked, without shade, water, or friends in 
this murky region, and under the fierce sun reflected from 
the bald glaring mountains, is in a most pitiful and hope- 
less condition. Jericho was then a sacerdotal station, 
whither priests frequently resorted. And so by chance 
or " coincidence of circumstances" " there came down a 
certain priest that way," but passed the wounded stranger 
by. Then a Levite, likewise on his way to the priestly 
station. Then a hated Samaritan, belonging to a race 
supposed incapable of a kind and good act. He had 
compassion on him, dismounted, dressed his wounds, 
"set him on his beast and brought him to an inn" — 
khan or caravanserai, where man and beast find shelter 
over night ; such a one as you still find on the side of a 
hill half-way between Jerusalem and Jericho. The scene 
of this touching act of mercy casts a pleasant charm over 
this haunted road, and the sweet story has taught lessons 
of heavenly charity to the suffering, and their deliverers 
in every age and country. Riding along through this 
dreary region, the rattling tramp of the horses started a 
jackall, most likely the fox of the Bible. In form and 
color it resembles the fox. Not very far south of this, 
Samson caught three hundred, and made them destroy 
the corn, vineyards, and olives of the Philistines. Judges 
15. Their home is in wild desolate regions. When the 
mountain of Zion was desolated, the foxes walked about 
on it. Lamentations 5 : 18. But even " the foxes have 
holes " for a dwelling place, while " the Son of man had 
not where to lay his head." Matt. 8 : 20. 

We overtook the pilgrims about noon ; a large confused 



286 



A DESOLATE REGION. 



crowd of people, most diverse in age, costume, and lan- 
guage. Mules carried a chair on each side hung together 
by means of ropes and straps, in which old men and 
women were comfortably seated. The heads and arms 
of children stuck out from among rattling pans and bales 
of luggage. Now they were strung out in a long line 
over the hills, then gathering into a compact mass as a 
safeguard against danger. All appeared cheerful and 
happy, chattering as they went, for they were approach- 
ing the sacred river in which our Lord was baptized, and 
were about to bathe in its famous waters. But few can 
ever enjoy a pilgrimage thither. It is generally the last 
act of a pilgrim to the Holy Sepulchre, to visit and bathe 
in the Jordan. If possible he brings his shroud along 
for a bathing suit, then carefully lays it by for his burial. 
To put on one's grave-clothes before the time is enough 
to inspire serious reflections anywhere, and especially at 
the Jordan. 

The dreariness of this " wilderness " I have no language 
to describe. It grows more cheerless as we approach the 
valley of the Jordan. The few straggling little birds and 
blades of grass present a picture neither of life nor death, 
— shall I say of the death that never dies f At noon-day 
the air is murky and hard to breathe. Schubert depicts it 
well : " The deserts of Egypt and Arabia Petra, with their 
sand-wastes and rocks, are like a grave-yard full of signi- 
ficant tomb-stones, through which the pilgrim passes with- 
out a shudder. But the country lying between Jerusa- 
lem and Jericho is like a dying bed, on which the last 
spark of life wrestles with death, ever expiring without 
being able to die ; the gasping of a dying man battling 
against suffocation is to the ear what the color and form 



VALLEY OF THE JORDAN. 



28T 



of the miserable famishing plants and animals which pine 
away here, are to the eye." 

It was doivn to Jericho that a certain man went from 
Jerusalem, and down it is to this day. Though but 
twenty-five miles apart, Jerusalem is 4000 feet above 
Jericho and the Jordan. On we rode over naked hills 
hedged in by larger ones, but all the while down-hill; 
just as we have it in the Scripture, " going up " from or 
"going down " to the Jordan. Our road wound along a 
dry water-course, and after coming down-hill so long we 
expected suddenly to emerge out of the rugged solitude 
into the plain of Jericho ; but having arrived at the edge 
of the plain, we still found it from 1000 to 2000 feet 
below us. The whole valley of the Jordan spread out, 
all a barren sand-plain, save the green wheat-fields around 
Jericho. The trees and jungle of the Jordan edged its 
crooked channel with pleasant verdure, but in some places 
even these were wanting. On the opposite side the mas- 
sive mountains of Moab rose out of the plain like a mighty 
breastwork of nature. 

We threaded our way zigzag down a long steep decli- 
vity, with the black, deep gorge of the brook Cherith 
immediately to our left. We could look some distance 
down into the black abyss, without seeing the bottom 
of the frowning cleft, but heard the roar and falling of 
the torrent-stream, far down. The rock-walls rise per- 
pendicularly from the brook hundreds of feet in height, 
and the narrow entrance resembles that of a mountain- 
cavern. "Elijah went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, 
that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread 
and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the 
evening ; and he drank of the brook." 1 Kings 17 : 5, 6. 
Here, then, in this dismal mountain -gorge, the prophet 



288 



ANCIENT JERICHO. 



liid himself from Ahab. While looking at it from the 
base of the mountain, two ravens flew through the narrow 
entrance. 

The remains of an ancient aqueduct extend along the 
flowing brook, which possibly may have furnished ancient 
Jericho with water. Our path from here led down a gra- 
dual descent, and soon brought us to several ruins and 
earth-covered walls, marking the site of the Scriptural 
Jericho. Hither came Joshua's spies whom Rahab con- 
cealed. A great and powerful place it then was, the 
only important city in the Jordan valley. It was the 
door of Palestine from this quarter. Two roads still wind 
through mountain-passes from Jericho into the interior 
of Canaan ; one south-west across Olivet to Jerusalem ; 
the other north-east towards Ai and Bethel. Along the 
latter road the leader of the Hebrews went up to Ai from 
Jericho. Joshua 8. It was not owing to any arbitrary 
choice that Joshua commenced his invasion of the Pro- 
mised Land. Coming from that direction he here could 
not have done otherwise. The Jewish caravans that 
came up to the festivals, from Galilee and beyond Jordan, 
passed through Jericho. Luke 18, 19. Owing to its luxu- 
riant palm-groves it was anciently called " the city of 
palm-trees," the last solitary relic of which has of late 
years disappeared. Deut. 34 : 3 ; Judges 1 : 16 ; 3 : 13. 

Before this proud city the host of Joshua had encamped. 
The gates were shut ; " none went out, and none came 
in." A wandering nomadic nation, with neither the arms 
and implements of war, nor the skill to use them, was to 
take one of the strongest and best-fortified cities of Ca- 
naan. Nothing short of a miraculous interposition of 
Divine power could enable them to do this. " The cap- 
tain of the Lord's host" led his army on to battle; the 



JERICHO CURSED. 



289 



people shouted and the priests blew their trumpets, and the 
walls fell. Joshua 5 : 14-16; 6 : 20. When Elijah came 
here. " the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho" came 
out to meet him ; and when the water around the city was 
bitter, they got Elisha to heal it. 2 Kings 2. Our Saviour 
came with the Jewish pilgrims to the festival at Jerusa- 
lem. They had come from Galilee, down the other side 
of Jordan, a road which the Jews took to avoid going 
through Samaria, whose people they hated. John 4 : 4, 9. 
Poor beggars, as their custom is to this day in large 
cities, placed themselves by the way-side without the 
gate, to ask alms of the multitude as they passed along. 
Among the rest was blind Bartimeus, who, when he 
heard that the Saviour was passing by, " cried, saying, 
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me;" and Jesus 
said, " Receive thy sight." Luke 18. Then as the mul- 
titude crowded along the streets, Zaccheus, the rich pub- 
lican, climbs on a sycamore tree, to get a glimpse of the 
Saviour. The Divine prophet becomes his guest and 
Redeemer. Of all these occurrences one will naturally 
think at Jericho. But the city, its houses and inhabit- 
ants, silently sleep under the still earth. No gates, 
walls, or palaces are left to tell of its former glory. Jeri- 
cho was rebuilt after its destruction by Joshua, whether 
on the site of the old city, I am unable to determine. But 
its present desolation, without a house or inhabitant, 
makes one think of the dreadful adjuration of Joshua: 
" Cursed be the man before the Lord,, that riseth up and 
buildeth this city Jericho : he shall lay the foundation 
thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he 
set up the gates of it." Joshua 6 : 26. 

We must not confound the sycamore of Zaccheus with 
the tall, smooth-barked tree of that name in America. 
25 T 



290 



THE SYCAMORE. 



It is a species of fig tree, still planted by the wayside, 
where Zaccheus found it. It bears several crops of figs 
during the year, which grow on short stems along the 
trunk and larger branches, instead of hanging from the 
end of twigs, as the fruit of other trees. Some say they 
bear seven crops a year. Their figs are insipid, and 
eaten only by the poorer classes. Amos had prophesied 
evil concerning Jeroboam. Amaziah advised him to 
flee from the angry king. To show that his descent and 
social standing are not enviable, he replies: "I was no 
prophet, neither was I a prophet's son ; but I was an 
herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit." Amos 7 : 
14. Few but herdmen, to this day, gather sycamore 
figs. 

The wood of the sycamore is soft, and in comparison 
to the cedar is of little value. Thus in Isaiah the re- 
bellious Jews taunt the Most High, by saying when he 
had their sycamores cut down : "We will change them 
into cedars." Isaiah 9 : 10. And in the golden age of 
the Hebrews, we are told that Solomon " made silver to 
be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as 
the sycamore trees that are in the vale (of Jericho) for 
abundance." 1 Kings 10 : 27. 

It is a tender tree, seldom found on cold mountains, 
but mostly in hot plains and valleys. Generally it has 
a short, thick trunk, with large limbs branching out a 
few feet from the ground, so that Zaccheus could easily 
climb up ; its strong, thick roots strike deep into the 
earth and clench it fast with immovable firmness. To 
pluck up a sycamore tree is synonymous with an impos- 
sibility. " Heaven's thunderbolt may strike it down, 
the wild tornado may tear it to fragments, but nothing 
short of miraculous power can fairly pluck it up by the 



"the spring of elisha." 



291 



root." Hence the strongest possible illustration we have 
of the omnipotence of faith, even in its smallest begin- 
nings, is where our " Lord said, If ye had faith as a 
grain of mustard-seed, ye might say unto this sycamine 
tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted 
in the sea ; and it should obey you." Luke 17 : 6. 

In company with our guards, we rode about a mile 
northward, to " the spring of Elisha." The sable heads 
of~a few half-naked Bedouins rose out of the tall wheat- 
fields near the spring. One had taken his filthy gar- 
ment off, and was evidently on a hunt after the dis- 
turbers of his peace. If ever this limpid fountain was 
bitter, I can bear testimony to the sweetness of its 
present waters. The stream swells to a considerable 
size, and then is led off through small canals to water 
the plain. Wherever this water goes, it evokes grass, 
grain, and a profusion of flowers. Our guards steered 
a direct course toward the modern village of Jericho, 
through wheat-fields thick as a brush. ^Numerous Nakb 
or thorn trees, grew on this fertile part, looking from a 
distance like apple orchards, whose branches were vocal 
with the plaintive cooing of the turtle. The abundance 
of wild flowers filled the air with pleasant odors. 

By the time we arrived at the village, our servants 
and muleteers had erected the tents immediately outside 
of it, and Mahommed had a dinner waiting for us, far 
superior to any that our host Antonio at Jerusalem could 
furnish. The pilgrims had encamped east of the village. 
They had but few tents, even old men and women had 
to content themselves with a roofless abode and bed on 
the bare earth. To secure themselves against robbers, 
they crowded close together. Columns of smoke curled 
up from their numerous fires. The diversity of costume 



292 



MODERN JERICHO. 



and faces, of age and color, composed a scene of varie- 
gated interest. Some were cooking, some eating, some 
smoking, some feeding their animals, all apparently talk- 
ing and contributing their mite to the din and chattering 
noise which filled the air. It recalled the image of the 
Hebrew encampment at Gilgal, scarcely a mile from 
here, and furnished a vivid picture of the Jewish cara- 
vans passing through here on their way to the feasts at 
Jerusalem. Usually they tarried at Jericho over night. 
All classes joined in the caravan without distinction of 
age or rank. The young, who take an infinite delight 
in such a novel travelling assemblage, often stray from 
parents, sometimes walk with some relatives in a remote 
part of the caravan, so that their absence does not always 
alarm the parents. It was in such a crowd that the 
youthful son of Mary was lost. At first they thought 
he had joined himself to "their kinsfolk and acquaint- 
ance" who were in advance of them. Not finding him 
here they became alarmed, and " after three days found 
him in the temple." Luke 2. 

Rihah, the present village of Jericho, is not far from 
the site of the ancient city, possibly on part of its terri- 
tory. It contains forty or fifty houses, miserable hovels 
roofed with brushwood, corn stalks, and gravel. Small 
yards are before some of the huts, with sheds of brush- 
wood roofs. At one side of the village is a square tower 
some forty feet high, fast falling to ruin. Like the 
ancient Jericho, it must have a wall around it, less for- 
midable however than that of its predecessor. This 
simply consists of a hedge of dry thorn bushes, heaped 
up and platted into a fence, whose sharp pins are a 
terror to man and beast, keeping out dogs, leopards, and 
hyenas. The inhabitants are a thievish clan, who are 



INHABITANTS OFRlHAH. 



293 



•willing to rob and plunder, provided it cost but little 
effort. Their indolence is proof against filth, fleas, and 
famine. They and their animals live in the same pen, 
and share their vermin in common. Robinson says : 
" They are a mongrel race, between the Bedouin and 
Hudhry, disowned and despised of both." 

There was a time when " all the plain of Jordan was 
well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed 
Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, 
like the land of Egypt." Gen. 13 : 10. The streams 
which then watered it are still here. Three springs well 
out of the mountain, and spread tangled thickets along 
their currents, and carry fertility wherever 'they go. 
But the unwatered soil remains arid sancl. Even now, in 
its neglected condition, the green fields and thorn-trees 
spread over the watered parts around Jericho, present a 
charming contrast to the sterile waste elsewhere. The 
little farming which the soil receives, is done on shares 
by a foreign tribe of Bedouins. 

When Joshua came up from the Jordan to Gilgal, near 
Jericho, a large palm grove graced the plain, nearly 
three miles broad and eight miles long, perhaps remind- 
ing him of the magnificent palm forest which he had 
seen around Memphis in Egypt. Vast fields of wheat 
and barley waved their golden heads among the long 
vistas of palm-columns. Over the tree tops were seen 
the walls and towers of the city; perhaps they could 
even see the house of Rahab, which "was upon the 
town wall," from which she left down the spies by a 
cord. Beyond rose the rugged "mountain," skirting 
the Wilderness of Judea, where the spies hid themselves 
for three days, while their pursuers sought them on the 
way to the Jordan. Holes, like doors, are seen along 
25* 



294 



GILGAL. 



its rough and almost perpendicular sides, leading into 
hermit-cells. This same mountain, with its gorges and 
caves, which furnished a shelter to Elijah and the spies, 
now shelters the robbers that infest this region. Joshua 
2 : 15-22. 

On a rising ground, about a mile or two from Jericho, 
stood Gilgal, now without a stone to mark its site. Here 
the Israelites "rolled away the reproach" of their uncir- 
cumcision. Here was the first resting-place of the Ark of 
the Covenant, where they held their first Passover in the 
Land of Promise. Monumental stones were reared here, 
not only that their " children," but "all the people of 
the earth, might know the hand of the Lord, that it is 
mighty." Joshua 4 

At Gilgal, as at Bethel/ was the centre of the Jewish 
government and worship for awhile. Here Saul was 
made king, and Samuel judged the people. Here was 
the school of the prophets under Elijah and Elisha, where 
the kingdom was renewedly given to David, after the 
defeat of Absalom. 1 Sam. 11 : 15 ; 2 Sam. 19 : 15, 40. 
It was at the threshold of Canaan, — a luxuriant sample 
of its fertility — the first fruitful garden-spot they had 
met on their whole pilgrimage. The productive wheat- 
fields at Jericho, perhaps a few miles in circumference, 
and the only fruitful spot of the kind in this region, were 
just beginning to whiten, and furnished a striking pic- 
ture of the wheat of old Jericho. The next day they 
"did eat of the old corn [grain] of the land, unleavened 
cakes and parched corn." Joshua 5. Still the Arabs 
eat roasted wheat and unleavened cakes. The day fol- 
lowing "the manna ceased," and "they did eat of the 
fruit of the land of Canaan that year." Even so will it 
be with the Christian pilgrim. So long as he journeys 



CHRIST TEMPTED. 



295 



through earth's wilderness he gets his manna through 
sacraments and means. Once he has crossed the Jordan 
into the Canaan above, where the bread of life grows as 
a native plant, the manna will cease. 

High up on the edge of the Wilderness of Judea we 
saw from here a chapel, marking the traditional spot of 
our Saviour's temptation. After His baptism in the 
Jordan, He " was led up of the spirit into the wilderness 
to be tempted of the devil." Matt. 4:1. Whether His 
forty days' fasting and temptation occurred in this wil- 
derness, or in that of the opposite mountains of Moab, 
in either case the retired locality would be suited for 
His rigid and trying work. 

We retired to our tents weary, but delighted with the 
excursions of the day. At our evening devotions we 
read the narrative of our Saviour and Zaccheus at Jericho. 
There is no guide-book like the Bible for Palestine. As 
my custom was, I looked at and listened to the night, 
impenetrably dark. A few lights glimmered from the 
pilgrim encampment. The Dipper and the North Star, 
Orion and the Pleiades, shone with unusual brightness 
through the thick darkness. A great multitude of tree- 
toads, from neighboring woods, filled the air with familiar 
croakings, and called up associations of home. A few 
pilgrim voices were heard in the distance ; a child's voice 
from the village, and the occasional baying of a half- 
starved prowling watch-dog. These are little things to 
talk and write about ; but they belong to the scene, and 
evoked thoughts and emotions which I am unwilling to 
forget. 

It proved a restless night. The guards of the several 
encampments kept up a discharge of musketry till morn- 
ing, to proclaim their prowess to the robbers round about 



296 



WILD BEASTS OF THE JORDAN. 



Jericho, who troubled us less than the vermin of the 
doomed city. Long before daybreak the pilgrims started 
their long procession, illuminated with numerous torches. 
At early dawn we mounted our horses, and rode off 
along the western side of the village, whose tenants 
were lying about here and there in their half-open frail 
abodes. Birds warbled their early melodies as we rode 
away from the shadow of old Jericho. We soon got 
beyond green fields into the uneven sand-plain of an arid 
desert. About an hour from the Jordan we passed down 
the first bank into a region thickly covered with brush- 
wood, in which wild beasts still hide. About ten minutes 
before reaching the river we crossed the second bank, 
likewise covered with jungle. In ancient times, when 
the swellings of Jordan flowed out to this bank, it drove 
the howling beasts out of their lairs. " Behold, he shall 
come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against 
the habitation of the strong." Jeremiah 49 : 19. The 
lion has disappeared, but the wild boar, jackal, and wolf 
still flee before the swellings of the river. Birds hid in 
the bushes ; reptiles and tigers then sought refuge here, 
and were all driven out when the water " overflowed the 
hiding place." Isaiah 28 : 17. 

The long merry cavalcade of pilgrims passed us on their 
return, some with dripping garments, all bearing stone or 
stick, as a sacred memento of their visit. Their aspect was 
rather that of merriment than devout enthusiasm. Whole 
families, man, wife, and children, sat on their single mule 
or camel, cheerily chatting. When pilgrims reach the 
river, they dismount and perform their baths in a very 
matter-of-fact style. Some plunge in naked ; others in 
their white winding-sheets. Without levity or indecorum, 
a primitive or domestic simplicity pervades the whole 



MILITARY EVOLUTIONS. 



297 



transaction. Whole families bathe together. The father 
receives the infant from the mother, and gives the poor 
thing a complete immersion. This -will suffice for a life- 
time, and save it the danger and expense of a future pil- 
grimage -when grown up. As their advance guards ap- 
proached ours, one of each suddenly gave spurs to his 
horse, and rode round in a circle in opposite directions. 
Their loose robes flew and fluttered in the air as their 
steeds dashed wildly over the plain, still narrowing the 
circle, until they simultaneously approached at full speed, 
with their spears levelled between the thumb and fore- 
finger, ready for a dart. Just as they seemed to tilt 
together in dire collision, they tore their steeds back on 
the haunches with a savage look and thrilling yell that 
sent a cold shudder over me. They seem to delight in 
these sporting evolutions ; no matter how suddenly the 
horses stop or whirl round, they sit as firmly in the saddle 
as if they were part and parcel of the beast. It reminded 
me of the encounter of the knight of the Couch ant Leo- 
pard, and Sheerkohf, the Lion of the Mountain, in 
Walter Scott's "Talisman," which occurred not far south 
of this. 

My first thought on the banks of the Jordan was one 
of disappointment as to its size. The Rhine and the Nile 
already appeared small, compared with our American 
rivers, but the Jordan is not half as large as either. In 
spite of descriptions and figures, we retain our youthful 
ideas of holy streams and places. Our early impressions, 
however fanciful, are often the most lasting. I was, 
therefore, ill prepared to find a stream not one hundred 
feet wide. The current was strong and rapid, and the 
water slightly muddy. Only the most expert swimmers 
could reach the opposite shore without being carried down 



298 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE JORDAN. 

the stream. At some places the channel is wider, and at 
others narrower, than here. Thick patches of reed or 
cane, like broom-corn, are found at some places along the 
river. They are slender, and easily bent by a breath of 
air. John was baptizing among these cane fields, and 
hence our Saviour says: "What went ye out into the 
wilderness to see ? A reed shaken by the wind ?" Matt. 
11 : 7. The water is from five to twelve feet deep. The 
forest of willow, sycamore, poplar, and tamarisk trees 
along here is almost impenetrable. 

The valley of the Jordan is here from ten to twelve 
miles wide ; further north it is narrower. It is formed 
by the lofty range of the mountains of Moab on the East, 
and on the West, along here, by the abrupt mountain 
heights of Judea. This whole plain, up to the Sea of 
Galilee, could, with little labor, be made fertile as a gar- 
den ; now it is one continuous desert, save the green spot 
around Jericho. The Nile strews the sand along its 
banks, as if by magic, with exuberant fertility, and gives 
bread to Egypt; while the Jordan has ever been useless 
in this respect. The depth of its channel has ever con- 
fined its waters within its several banks. The tropical 
sun, which promotes vegetation wherever the soil receives 
the vitalizing touch of water, withers and burns up all 
beyond its reach. It is the great watering-place for the 
Bedouin tribes, but its plain remains an arid waste. 
Josephus says the Jordan flows "through a desert." A 
region which, four thousand years ago, was "as the gar- 
den of the Lord," is now a plain of simmering sand, with 
a few stunted thorn-bushes, and multitudes of creeping 
things. Besides Jericho and Gilgal, scarcely a single city 
or village ever rose on its plain. Although it is the river 
of Palestine, all its other streams being small in com- 



MOHAMMEDAN ABLUTIONS. 



299 



parison with it, I know not that it has contributed a 
single element to the civilization of the plain through 
which it winds its tortuous course. 

Nature sends streams out of the neighboring moun- 
tains sufficient to water the arid sand, and make these 
"solitary places glad, and the wilderness blossom as the 
rose." But the torpid sluggards will rather rob than 
labor. The citizens of the plain have been ever more or 
less noted for this. Tropical climates enervate and pro- 
duce languor. Owing to the depression of the valley, the 
summers are intolerably hot, and here they extend 
through the greater part of the year. This has made 
the Arabs of the Jordan valley much darker than those 
of the highlands of Palestine. Their harvests are a 
month earlier than those of Jerusalem and the plains of 
Samaria. 

Why did John select this region to preach and baptize ? 
It was unfrequented and retired, and then " there was 
much water there." Ablution has always been more or 
less of a religious practice in the East, both among Jews 
and pagans. Every synagogue, if possible, was near a 
spring or stream ; and every Mohammedan mosque has 
a fountain. If there is no spring at hand, it is brought 
through aqueducts, sometimes over many miles. The 
Mohammedan always washes himself before he prays. 
The Koran says, if he is on a journey through a sandy 
desert, where no water is, he shall bathe and wash in the 
sand before prayer. Baptism or ablution was then nothing- 
new, but the doctrine of John was. Erom here we date 
that holy sacrament which has brought a Jordan into 
every congregation in Christendom, and the Holy Ghost 
wherever God is worshipped u in spirit and in truth." 

Ancient names usually express some characteristic 
P 



300 



COURSE OF THE JORDAN. 



feature of the things to which they were applied. Hence 
this river is called "the Jordan," which means "the 
Descender." From its source to its termination it abounds 
with falls and rapids. It springs in the fork of the Anti- 
Libanus, and immediately rushes down the mountain side 
into a swampy plain, where it forms the Lake of Merom. 
It emerges from this through the beginnings of its sin- 
gular valley, and in a distance of scarcely more than 
twenty miles, descends three hundred feet into the Sea 
of Galilee. From here again it plunges over twenty- 
seven rapids down toward the Dead Sea, through an 
aggregate fall of a thousand feet. Its impetuous torrent 
tumbles hither and thither in this confined crooked chan- 
nel, as if constantly struggling to escape from its limita- 
tions. The distance between the Dead Sea and the Sea 
of Galilee is in a straight line but sixty miles, and along 
the devious course of the Jordan it is over two hundred. 
This deep valley of the Jordan extends between these 
mountain chains to the Gulf of Akaba, the eastern arm 
of the Red Sea. 

The river therefore has three distinct stages or halting- 
places ; the first in the Lake of Merom, the second in the 
Sea of Galilee, the third in the Dead Sea. The first two 
must ever have served as regulators in its annual swell- 
ings. For without them .the melting snows of Lebanon 
and the accumulated floods of winter rains would have 
raised the small river into a destructive deluge, scattering 
desolation in its track. 

The overflowings of the Jordan are not so extensive 
now as they were in the days of Joshua. Then it over- 
flowed all its banks all the time of harvest. Joshua 3 : 15. 
In the vale of the Jordan, harvest comes from the middle 
of March to the beginning of April. When the copious 



ABEAM AND LOT. 



301 



winter showers and the melting snows of Hermon and 
Lebanon have replenished the springs, and send their 
rushing freshet-torrents into the river, then it still "over- 
flowed its banks." If its freshets are not so high and 
impetuous as in ancient times, it is doubtless owing in 
part to the clearing away of the forests of Lebanon and 
Hermon. 

Here then at last I stand on the banks of that sacred 
river whose history is interwoven with the religion of 
my childhood ! How those innocent, pure memories 
crowded into my mind as I quietly looked at the rapid 
stream ! The Jordan of my childhood, whose sweet 
stories, as taught me by a mother's love, was a different 
stream. It was wider and more difficult to cross. She 
has crossed over into the Promised Land, and as I ap- 
proach its banks, the Jordan of death seems to narrow 
and the crossing to become less perilous. 

Up there, on one of those conical hills, between Bethel 
and Hai, stood two earnest men, almost forty centuries 
ago, looking down into this plain, then fertile as " the 
land of Egypt." There was a strife between their herd- 
men because they had not room for all their herds. The 
peaceful Abram asked Lot to choose either on " the right 
hand" or on " the left hand." " Then Lot chose him 
all the plain of Jordan," and "Abram dwelled in the 
land of Canaan." Gen. 13. On his return to Canaan, 
Jacob says: "With my staff I passed over this Jordan, 
and now I am become two bands." Gen. 32 : 10. 

On the opposite side the Hebrew nation had encamped 
for the last night. The priests bore the ark of the 
covenant, and " as their feet were dipped in the brim of 
the water, it separated, and all the Israelites passed over 
on dry ground." Joshua 3. The twelve monumental 
26 



302 



THE PLAIN OF MOAE. 



stones set up in the midst of the Jordan, and the other 
twelve at Gilgal, are no longer seen. But the river and 
"the salt sea" which drained its channel dry, are still 
here, more enduring and impressive monuments than 
those made with hands. 

On the opposite side, about three miles from the Jor- 
dan, rose the mountains of Moab, from two to three 
thousand feet in height. The intervening plain is still 
more or less covered with shittim (accacia) trees. It was 
at Shittim, perhaps amid a grove of these shittim (thorns) 
trees, that the Israelites were encamped. Joshua 3 : 1. 
The greenish hue of the mountain showed that it still 
gives grass to the pastoral tribes beyond the Jordan. 
From those lofty summits two men successively obtained 
views of Canaan ; both were seers, but of opposite dis- 
positions and motives. The children of Israel had 
"pitched in the plains of Moab," between the Jordan 
and the mountain, right across the river from us. The 
King of Moab " was sore afraid of the people, because 
they were many." He sent for Balaam, saying: "I 
pray thee, curse me this people." On the mountain top 
Balak the King had erected an altar to Baal. Hither 
he brought Balaam ; " up unto the high places of Baal, 
that thence he might see the utmost part of the people." 
Numb-. 22. There stood the Assyrian prophet with the 
King of Moab by his side, still half-terrified from the 
unexpected and startling angelic message. 

"His wild hair floating on the eastern "breeze, 
His tranc'd, yet open, gaze 
Fix'd on the desert haze, 
As one who deep in heaven some airy pageant sees." 



BALAAM AND ISRAEL. 



303 



Seven altars were erected three times, at different 
places. But all to no purpose. The curse will not come. 
" How shall I curse whom Grod hath not cursed ? " Or 
as the New Testament has it, "If God be for us, who 
shall be against us?" From those high places he saw 
the tents of Israel amid the trees, streams, and aromatic 
shrubs of the plain, an innumerable host. "From the 
top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold 
him. Who can count the dust of Jacob and the number 
of the fourth part of Israel." And then, seeing the lines 
of tents along the river, he breaks forth in their praise : 
" How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, and thy taber- 
nacles, Israel ! As the valleys are they spread forth, 
as gardens by the river side." Numbers 24. Then he 
turned him round on his lofty tower toward the table- 
lands of Moab. looking at the mountains stretching down to 
Edom ; over the high wilderness beyond the Dead Sea, 
where dwelt Amalek ; to Engeddi, where dwelt the Ken- 
ite, — all in full view; and poured forth his plaintive 
dirge for each one. 

Not long after this, while the " goodly tents of Jacob " 
were still strewn over the plain, "Moses went up from 
the plains of Moab, unto the mountain of Nebo, to the 
top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho ; and the 
Lord showed him all the land" of Canaan, even "unto 
the utmost sea," which is the Mediterranean. Deut. 34. 

The precise spot of Pisgah is not known. The few 
modern travellers who have visited the summit of the 
mountain, say that its view literally embraces almost the 
whole scope of Canaan. There are few places in Pales- 
tine where this high mountain barrier does not loom up 
into view. Down in Beersheba, from the districts of 
Bethlehem and Jerusalem, from the regions of Grileacl, 



304 



MOSES ON PISGAH. 



Naphtali, and Dan, its. half-verdant ridges rise on the 
horizon. Through the wide openings in the hills Moses 
looked up to Jerusalem and Bethel. He could see the 
mountains of Samaria and Galilee up to Hermon and 
Lebanon. Ebal and Gerizim were distinctly in view, 
where he requested his people to read the blessings and 
curses. Deut. 27. He saw the land; but the Jordan, 
with its deep valley, rolled between. How tenderly he 
had pleaded with God to tread its sacred soil : " I pray 
thee, let me go over, and see this goodly land that is 
beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon " ! 
But in vain. This only was granted to him : " Get thee 
up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes west- 
ward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and 
behold it with thine eyes : for thou shalt not go over 
this Jordan." Deut. 3 : 25, 27. Turning away from it, 
he crosses the Jordan of death into the Canaan above. 
" Lo ! Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the 
land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord." 

The land beyond the Jordan became a resort for fugi- 
tives and exiles. In the green uplands of Moab David 
found shelter from his wicked and ungrateful Absalom. 
It was at "Mahanaim," where "the angels of God" 
met Jacob; here too he divided his people into "two 
hosts," when he heard that Esau was coming out to 
meet him. Gen. 32 : 1-7. And when Saul was defeated 
and slain at Gilboa, Abner took his son, Ishbosheth, 
and brought him over across the Jordan to Mahanaim. 
David crossed the Jordan at the fords of Jericho, near 
where we stood. Like a weary hart, faintly fleeing be- 
fore its cruel pursuers, he climbs the mountain, thinking 
of his dear Jerusalem, of which he takes a parting view 



DEATH OF THE LAWGIVERS. 



305 



on the summit. Amid such circumstances and trials 
he must have uttered the 42d Psalm : 

"As the heart panteth after the water "brooks, * 
So panteth my soul after thee, God. ;; 

Then there was much grass around Mahanaim, and 
rich tribes with great herds. David and his people were 
"hungry, weary, and thirsty;" the hospitable tribes 
brought them " butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine," 
and other things for their relief. Still the tribes around 
it graze their herds on its rich pastures. 2 Sam. 17. 

Then came Elijah and Elisha, the one dividing the 
waters of the Jordan, and ascending to Heaven while he 
throws his mantle on his successor. From the Mount of 
Olives, the places can be seen from where the three great 
lawgivers, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, departed into Para- 
dise. Olivet and Pisgah, the two extreme points, are 
about thirty miles apart. All three disappeared in an 
extraordinary and miraculous manner. From the top of 
Tabor, where the three had an interview at Christ's 
transfiguration, I also saw Moab. 

Up there among those desolate hills, John the Baptist, 
the second Elias, was preaching. " Then went out to 
him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round 
about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, con- 
fessing their sins." Matt. 3. Looking at the smooth 
pebbles strewn along the shore, I thought perhaps he 
pointed to such when he chid the Jews for relying solely 
on their Abrahamic lineage : " For I say unto you, that 
God is able of these stones to raise up children unto 
Abraham." Bethabara, where he baptized, was in this 
immediate neighborhood. 

As the vast multitude were streaming down the hills 
26* u 



306 



CHRIST'S BAPTISM. 



toward the river, "Jesus also came from Galilee to 
Jordan, unto John to be baptized of him." Matt. 3. 
The Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove, and a 
heavenly voice saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased." Then He went up among those 
neighboring Judean hills, seen from here, to be tempted. 
Toward the end of His life, He fled, like David, beyond 
Jordan, where He had been baptized. John 10. Here 
He was when Lazarus died, whither Martha and Mary 
sent for him, doubtless after looking down to these hills 
while they eagerly awaited his arrival. Standing on the 
second bank of the Jordan, and looking up and down the 
river, over the theatre where all these thrilling scenes 
and events were enacted, the general features of which 
corresponding so perfectly with the sacred narrative, one 
feels almost like an actual eye-witness of this holy drama 
of long, long centuries. The whole has daguerreotyped 
itself indelibly upon my heart. The meek old man on 
Pisgah (how I looked up and down the knolls of the 
summit, wondering where precisely he stood !) ; the ascend- 
ing Elijah in his fiery chariot ; the stern preacher of re- 
pentance, John the Baptist, and the meek and lowly 
Jesus, who was here inducted into His ministry, these all 
I saw there. 

While strolling along the Jordan, I caught myself in- 
voluntarily humming the hymns of my childhood. 

" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand " 

is not literally correct. Certainly the storm never dis- 
turbs its current much, though its rapid torrent stream, 
at the time, threatened to sweep one of the pilgrims down 
into the Dead Sea, and I was only saved from a similar 
fate while bathing, by catching hold of the limb of a tree. 



POETRY OF THE JORDAN. 



307 



This sea, which once burned with fire and brimstone, 
John used as a figure of the place of future torment ; 
" the lake which burnetii with fire and brimstone," in 
which the wicked shall have their part. Rev. 21 : 8. 
Those who are too weak to cross the Jordan, are swept 
down into this Lake of Death ; just as all who die in 
their sins are borne off by death's Jordan into the Lake 
of Woe. In the present condition of Palestine, some of 
the imagery in our sacred poetry would not be strictly 
correct. The drapery of many of our hymns is borrowed 
from its earlier golden age, but no longer suited to its 
forsaken and dreary condition. The green rich plain, 
with its groves around Jericho and Gilgal, must then 
have furnished a lovely sight to the Hebrews beyond the 
river. 

" Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
Stand dressed in living green ; 
So to the Jews old Canaan stood, 
While Jordan rolled between/' 

I looked at the strong dashing current with hesitation 
and misgivings. Only after several ineffectual efforts, 
could I bring myself to venture in. 

"But timorous mortals start and shrink 
To cross this narrow sea ; 
And linger shivering on the brink 
And fear to launch away." 

Our doubts, like those of Peter, sink us beneath the 
waves. The only safe way to cross the Jordan, is with 
the help of Joshua (Saviour), who sends the priests 
before with the Ark of the Covenant. 

So God still sends the ministry and the Church before, 
as instruments to divide the water for the soul safely to 
pass over into the Land of Promise. The ark divides 



308 



THE JORDAN OF DEATH. 



the waters and sends our dangers and fears down to the 
Dead Sea. Timid souls approach it with trembling ; but 
dying grace is not given until we need it. When our 
feet dip into the water, the Jordan will dry up, provided 
always we faithfully adhere to Joshua. 



" could we make our doubts remove, 
Those gloomy doubts that rise, 
And see the Canaan that we love 
With unbeclouded eyes: 

" Could we but climb where Moses stood, 
And view the landscape o'er, 
Not Jordan's streams, nor death's cold flood 
Should fright us from the shore." 



APPROACH THE DEAD SEA. 



309 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Having plucked a few mustard blossoms along the 
edge of the thick underwood as we got ready to start, 
we finally rode off southward toward the Dead Sea, sing- 
ing as we went, 

"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand." 

We soon reached an uneven plain, which became per- 
fectly barren and bare a mile from the sea. This belt 
around the shore is covered with a whitish salt crust, 
deposited by the evaporation from the sea. We reached 
the edge of it in an hour and a quarter, making the dis- 
tance from four to five miles. Leaving our horses on 
the shore, we walked over a short causeway on to a 
rough, stony little island at the northern end, and pre- 
pared for a bath. The water is clear and transparent, 
but so bitter that ordinary salt water is sweet in com- 
parison. The bottom can be seen where the water is 
four feet deep, and even at a greater depth. 

Owing to its great density, the water is remarkably 
buoyant. It is so heavy that no storm ever ruffles its 
smooth surface. Good swimmers find it too heavy to 
work the paddles, while those unskilled in the art, to 
which class I happen to belong, cannot sink. " Sink or 



310 



BATH IN THE DEAD SEA. 



swim," is a figure that will not apply to this element. 
When I reached a certain depth, the head and feet 
showed a strong disposition to exchange places, like a 
man who tries to walk on the water with bladders tied to 
his feet. But after a little practice, I moved and rolled 
about on the surface of the deep with an ease which usu- 
ally belongs only to beings of an amphibious race. I 
could lie on the water as on a soft, cooling couch ; sit as 
on a chair ; walk erect, step by step, just as if my feet 
touched the ground. Standing or walking erect, my 
person sank up to the arms beneath the water. A slight 
scratch on the skin causes a pricking pain, and the 
smallest particle splashed in the eye will set a man al- 
most wild. It leaves a greasy substance on the skin for 
days. Four days after this, the hair on my head was still 
full of unctuous polish, as if I had dipped it into a lard 
barrel. An hour after our bath we met a party of 
friends, whose shouts of laughter first told us that the 
evaporated water had left a white, salt crust on our 
faces, giving us the spectral appearance of those dreaded 
beings with which the superstition of the Middle Ages 
had peopled this region. 

The shore was strewn with smooth greyish stones and 
pebbles, with a slippery surface, not unlike pieces of soap. 
Some look as if covered with a thick coat of grey paint, 
and are said to burn if held to the fire. Trunks and 
branches of trees lie along its margin, which were swept 
down by the Jordan. Palm trunks, of a past age, which 
are no longer found along the river, are still preserved in 
its brine. As the Jordan approaches the sea the current 
melts into a tame, sluggish stream, still however of suffi- 
cient force to carry its fresh turbid waters far into the 
bitter blue sea, without intermingling. It has no outlet, 



SITE OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 811 

but assimilates all it receives. No fish nor any living ani- 
mals are in it. Some say that no bird will fly over it, 
which, however, is an exaggeration. We saw a swallow 
and a hawk soar through the hazy air above it. 

At its widest part, the Dead Sea is about twelve miles 
in width, and about fifty miles long. Its greatest depth 
is 1300 feet. The long, copious rains in Palestine are 
said to raise it somewhat, but evaporation soon restores it 
to the ordinary level. In most places the high limestone 
mountains approach pretty nearly to its shores. It is 
1300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, — the 
most depressed sheet of water in the world. The intense 
heat of the sun which pours into the steaming bowl with 
almost vertical intensity, during eight months of the 
year, creates an immense evaporation, which fills the 
atmosphere over it with a dense haze. At the time, it 
reminded me of our American Indian Summer. Earlier 
ages have seen in this hazy atmosphere the appearance 
of the "smoke going up forever and ever." Rev. 19 : 3. 

The southern end of the Dead Sea, about fifteen miles 
in extent, is much shallower than the other parts of it, 
being about thirteen feet deep in winter, and only three 
late in autumn. This most probably covers the site of 
Sodom and Gomorrah. The region round about it was 
then " as the garden of the Lord" in fertility, and now 
it is a most perfect picture of arid desolation. Whence 
this change ? Before the destruction of the cities of the 
plain, this was an ordinary salt lake, but much smaller 
than now, and the Jordan watered part of the plain 
around it. The air then was laden with salubrious moist- 
ure, and the ground free from the bituminous and saline 
exhalations now so destructive to vegetable life. The 
convulsions and eruptions with which God destroyed the 



312 



DWELLING-PLACE OF LOT. 



doomed cities heaved up veins of rock-salt, bitumen, and 
other volcanic substances, whose solution has rendered 
its waters so bitter and remarkably dense ever since. 
This increased its size, and now causes it to charge the 
atmosphere with substances which blight the soil with a per- 
petual curse. At the lower end some travellers claim to 
have found " the pillar of salt," into which Lot's wife was 
transformed for looking behind her. Gen. 19 : 26. All 
around the sea you find stones and rocks, on which the 
atmosphere has left a deposit of salt crust, which gives 
many the appearance of pillars of salt. And this is all 
that travellers find. I have no doubt that every thing 
happened as the Bible says ; but the cause of religion 
receives more damage than benefit from straining attempts 
to gratify an idle, silly curiosity, without even a plausible 
foundation of identity. You can change any person into 
a pillar of salt in a single day, by dipping him into this 
briny, bituminous sea, just as you can change a wick into 
a tallow candle by dipping it into the tallow. 

At the lower end of this present Sea, then in the 
" Vale of Siddim, which is the Salt Sea," righteous Lot 
lived ! Hither he came with his herds, when he and 
Abraham agreed to separate. "Lot chose him all the 
plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east " from Bethel. 
Gen. 13 : 11. On two successive occasions the Lord 
delivered him out of great danger. The fertile plain and 
its wealthy cities had for twelve years been subject to 
Chedorlaomer, the King of Elam. " In the thirteenth 
year they rebelled, and in the fourteenth, Chedorlaomer 
and his allies invaded the plain. This was the first inva- 
sion of Palestine by Assyria which we have on record. 
The invaders conquered and took Lot and his goods with 
them. They returned up through the valley of the Jor- 



LOT AND THE ANGELS. 



313 



dan, to the source of this river. Here "Abram the He- 
brew " overtook them with his 318 trained servants, and 
chased them across the Anti-Libanus into the plain of 
Damascus, and " brought back again his brother Lot " to 
his home. Gen." 14. 

A.gain the peace of his hearth is invaded, but not by a 
human foe. In the cool of the evening " Lot sat in the 
gate of Sodom," — at the gates of the city men of influence 
still meet for social interview, or to decide on trials and 
disputes. Two angels enter the gate, whom he presses 
to lodge with him. In the morning, destruction paused 
until they had hurried him and his family out of the city, 
when "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven 
overthrew those cities and all the plain, and all the 
inhabitants of the cities and that which grew upon the 
ground." Gen. 19. In truth this Dead Sea is a dreary 
region. The thick haze hangs over it like a funeral pall ; 
and the bald mountains, rising from 1500 to 2000 feet 
above the lake, give it the appearance of a vast kettle 
sunk deep into the earth ; the bare crusty soil, and the 
dull sepulchral hush of a watery region, where not a wave 
rolls over the surface, or lashes in pleasant sounds on the 
shore, all combine to make it an apt image of the dreary, 
hideous pond of spiritual death. Whatever natural agents 
God may have employed in the destruction of "the cities 
of the plain," the sea that covers them as a winding-sheet 
is a perpetual monument of His justice, which must ever 
visit impenitent and rebellious iniquity with its merited 
punishment. 

Soon after leaving the Dead Sea, the plain rose in a 
sloping ascent. Our path led over rough ravines, and 
finally up the steep, rugged mountain side, in zigzag 
windings. Higher and still higher we ascended, as we 
27 



314 



WILDERNESS OP EN&EDDI. 



rode into the "hill country of Judea." The " Salt Sea" 
spread out below us in its deep basin, far toward the 
south, until its blue unruffled waters were hid by the haze. 
The sun, reflected from the bare hills, was intensely hot, 
and not a tree or shrub could be found for shelter. "We 
crouched in the shade of a rock to take our repast. We 
rode over hills without end, whose dreary aspect was 
relieved by naught but lizards, hawks, and an occasional 
chirping bird. Bathing in the sea, and the breathless 
heat, brought on languor and oppressive weariness, which 
made dreariness more dreary. 

We were now in the wilderness of Engeddi, where 
David "dwelt in strong holds" when he fled from Saul. 
He sought the fugitive heir of his throne "upon the rocks 
of the wild goats, " animals which then abounded here. 
1 Sam. 24 : 2 ; Psalm 104 : 18. The caves which still 
remain among these hills are doubtless such as Saul and 
David entered. 1 Sam. 24. Some were then already old, 
and their design and origin unknown. They were often 
used for hiding places. David hid himself in the cave of 
Adullam. 2 Sam. 23. The five kings whom Joshua van- 
quished at GKbeon, " hid themselves in a cave at Mak- 
kedah." And Joshua shut them up by rolling great 
stones to its door. Joshua 10. 

At length we met occasional flocks of sheep : the 
"sheepcotes" which David saw were doubtless at their 
encampments. Several Bedouin women strolled after 
their flocks, while they were spinning wool with the distaff. 
It is quite a simple affair ; only the spool of our spinning- 
wheel, with a bunch of flaxen tow tied to the end, from 
which they pull off the thread ; just such as Sarah and 
Bebekah used. The spool or distaff is left to dangle 
loosely at one end of the thread, which they give an occa- 



BEDOUIN WOMEN SPINNING. 315 



sional twirl while twisting and rubbing at the other. 
They spin as leisurely as ladies in more civilized countries 
knit, not only during conversation, but sometimes while 
riding abroad on a camel or donkey. So they spun wool 
in the morning of the world. No cotton-jennies then. 
How these poor women would look to see a cotton factory 
of five hundred" or a thousand looms running off finished 
bales of muslin from piles of raw cotton ! We afterwards 
passed a black line of seventeen Bedouin tents, where the 
women again sat in their humble dwellings plying their 
distaffs. I was greatly pleased with the evident industry 
of these matrons of Engeddi. Despite the many marks 
of inferiority, in this respect the daughters of Ishmael 
resemble the model woman of King Lemuel : " Who lay- 
eth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the 
distaff:' Prov. 31 : 19. 

Wearily we jogged on beneath the hot sun, among steep 
hills, rocks, and wadys. Finally we reached a walled 
road along a steep mountain side, winding around several 
precipitous bluffs ; and then of a sudden the famous con- 
vent of Mar Saba hung over a deep gorge right before us. 

Mohammed and the muleteers had gone in advance of 
us and prepared the tents, ready for repose, and at no 
former period did we need it more. My exhaustion made 
me forget all the holy impressions of the day. The first 
and foremost thought was rest, and rest I did in a re- 
freshing nap. A few moments sufficed, and we started 
for a visit to the convent. After considerable battering 
on its little iron door, it swung open on its heavy hinges, 
and a monk bade us enter. Quite a crowd of pilgrims 
were lounging about the interior of the premises. We 
went down a flight of winding stairs and up another into 
a plain reception room. Seated on the divan, the monks 



316 



CONVENT OF MAR SABA. 



entertained us with palm brandy, coffee, and raisins — the 
first being a barbarous kind of grog, which we declined 
to indulge in. 

They then led us through the different apartments of 
the convent ; into the sepulchre of St. Saba beneath a 
curiously wrought mausoleum, in a stone chapel in the 
centre of the court ; through a series of chapels, covered 
with quaint pictures and Greek inscriptions ; then into two 
chapels of St. John of Damascus ; in one he wrote his 
work on Faith, still the chief text-book of the Greek 
Church; the other contains his tomb. The church has 
a richly gilded pulpit, and is brilliantly decorated with 
silver and gold. The monks were just at service, but 
our guide led us close by the officiating priest, and loudly 
chattered his explanations, as if unconscious of the silent 
devotions of his brethren. From the top of its tower we 
looked down into the fearful gorges which furrow this 
romantic region. 

This convent was founded by St. Saba in the begin- 
ning of the sixth century. He lived in a cell cut out of 
the rocks, with a lion for his companion. A dreary 
chamber it is, entered by a low door, and a small side 
cell, where dwelt the lion. Around this cell the walls 
and towers of the convent were reared, on the edge of a 
precipice overhanging the Kedron. Through many gorges 
and winding crooks it reaches here from Jerusalem, on 
its way to the Dead Sea. The narrow bed of the crooked, 
deep-cut rock-channel was many hundred feet below us. I 
could not look down without a shudder, for the huge edi- 
fice hangs over an awful abyss. The perpendicular rocks 
on both sides are perforated by numerous hermit-cells, 
once the abode of recluses. The naked hills around it, 
traversed by a confusion of gorges, without trees or grass, 



HISTORY OF ST. SABA. 



317 



present a scene of the wildest grandeur. The convent 
contains a vault filled with fourteen thousand martyred 
monks ! Many of its cells are only caves in the rocks. 
It is supported by massive buttresses and walls of in- 
credible strength, as a protection against foes. They 
extend half-way .down the rocks, so that its interior from 
a distance looks like a very steep roof, and its cells like 
magnified swallow-nests along the lofty rocks. A few 
vegetables and a pomegranate tree in the court presented 
a green spot, in pleasant contrast with the general dreary 
sterility outside. The monks reverently pointed out a soli- 
tary palm tree, as having been planted by St. Saba himself. 

In the early ages of the Church, monasticism was not 
always confined to convents. Anchorites would often 
select a dreary, unfrequented spot, and live in a cluster 
of such cells, which they called Laura. The Greek Church 
was noted for this kind of ascetism, where it still is prin- 
cipally found. In the early part of its history, the monks 
of St. Saba thus abode in separate cells ; but afterwards 
they organized themselves into a cenobium or convent, 
under a superior. Since then it has had to encounter 
cruel and adverse fortunes. In the sixth century the 
Origenist sect violently took possession of it. After it 
was restored to the owners by military force, the Per- 
sians again took it in the seventh century. In the eighth 
and ninth centuries it was repeatedly plundered by Arab 
hordes, and nearly all the monks were slain. At the 
beginning of the present century the rapacious Arabs 
again besieged its massive walls. As they have no 
cannons or other weapons with which to batter or scale 
such ramparts, they finally gained entrance by burning 
the small door, which then was made of wood. With its 
present iron door, it is impervious to Arab warfare. The 
27* 



318 



A SUNSET ON THE KEDEON. 



convent at present contains thirty-five monks, and is 
under the especial protection of the Russian Government. 

Just before sunset I ascended a neighboring hill-top, 
which commanded a full view of the wild environs of the 
convent. The lofty stupendous cliffs of Kedron rose 
from their fearful depths in awful grandeur. Here and 
there crumbling walls or a small recess marked the site 
of a former hut. The open doors of the untenanted cells 
within the convent walls appeared like so many pigeon- 
holes, of which large flocks were flying familiarly up and 
down the Kedron gorge. The pilgrims were reclining in 
the court and on the roofs of the convent, chattering in 
many tongues. As the sun dropped behind the hills, a 
variety of birds, to me unknown, began to warble in all 
directions, making the dreary Kedron ring with the sweet 
music of nature. Never did the song of birds take me 
more sweetly by surprise. The sun had set to us, but 
still he shed his mellow evening light on the mountains 
of Moab, on the other side and toward the lower end of 
the Dead Sea. I watched the shadow as it slowly 
ascended to the top, and suddenly the sun was gone. 
Then I thought of that last sunset of Sodom and Go- 
morrah, of the angels it brought to Lot, of the riotous 
carnal confusion of " the street " at night, and how they 
"vexed his righteous soul." I was aroused from this 
pleasant reverie by the convent clock striking the 
twelfth hour, corresponding to our 6 P. M. The cheer- 
ful melodies of birds gradually died away, and my old 
familiar friend, the katydid, struck up a no less welcome 
tune. The pilgrims grew quieter and retired from the 
roof to their lodgings. Night hawks, owls, and bats 
issued from the caves that overhung the deep valleys, 
and set up a hideous hooting and croaking. Just then I 



DISTANT BEDOUIN CAMPS. 



319 



discovered a black line of Bedouin tents in a distant 
valley, and speedily returned to our own, to escape their 
nocturnal maraudings. 

Soon after we resumed our journey the next morning, 
we reached elevations where the Dead Sea came into 
view again. The lurid glare of the morning sun gave it 
the appearance of a molten sea of lava. The mountains 
too reflected a light through the hazy atmosphere, of 
most singular hue. At this hour of the day, " when the 
morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot," his wife 
and two daughters out of the city. " The sun was risen 
upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar." Then 
commenced the destruction of the cities. The black 
clouds of sulphurous smoke could have been seen from 
here, as Abraham saw them not far from this, rising up 
" as the smoke of a furnace." Gen. 19. 

We passed in sight of Bedouin encampments, "black 
as the tents of Kedar." Here and there a meagre patch 
of wheat lay nestled in a stony dell. Within a mile or 
two from Bethlehem, the little valleys became more fer- 
tile, and were alive with Arabs ploughing and sowing 
their spring seed. Only a few ploughed with horses ; the 
rest with small oxen, as large as a yearling calf. I do 
not remember of having seen any but these dwarfish 
cattle in all Judea ; whereas in Galilee, along Carmel 
and the hills of Bashan, they are as large as elsewhere. 

Wherever the land is cultivated, it is worked by all the 
villagers. It belongs to some rich nabob or the Govern- 
ment, if such a term can be applied to the ungovernment 
of Palestine. Some of the plundering Bedouin tribes take 
the government into their own hands, and farm by stealth. 
From remote ages, the agricultural interests of Palestine 
have been crippled by this worse than barbarian feuda- 



320 



AGRICULTURE OF PALESTINE. 



lism. Here we found scores of men and teams working 
promiscuously together. One yoke following the other, 
like " Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with 
twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth." 
1 Kings 19 : 19. Having the hindermost plough, his 
interview with Elijah did not stop the rest. 

The ploughs are frail implements, made on the simplest 
plan. A single handle terminating in a heavy point, or 
"the plough-share," with a beam attached to it, con- 
nected with the yoke ; this is the Arab's plough. This 
point in most instances is so narrow, that when the Golden 
Age of peace shall come, it would not be difficult for a 
single sword to be " beaten into a plowshare." It only 
streaks and scratches over the surface, while the plougher 
sometimes walks sideways, with one hand on the handle, 
and the other on a stick, pressing the share into the 
ground. With their puny teams and rickety running 
ploughs, they are compelled to work and sow their lands 
in winter, when the rains moisten and soften the earth. 
Their ignorance of the art of agriculture compels them 
to toil through winter showers, shivering with cold, when 
they might do it to much better purpose in fair weather. 
It has ever been so here. " The sluggard will not plough 
by reason of cold ; therefore shall he beg in harvest and 
have nothing." Prov. 20 : 4. " He that observeth the 
wind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds 
shall not reap." Eccles. 11 : 4. Why? Because when 
clouds and cold rains cease, he cannot plough the hard 
dry ground sufficiently to cover his seed. 

Another reason why the farmers work thus in com- 
panies is for mutual protection. The most of them had 
a sword or gun with them to keep off other warlike 
and plundering tribes. Even these farmers are easily 



A THRILLING INCIDENT. 



321 



tempted to commit robberies, when, at least in a figurative 
sense, they convert the " ploughshare into the sword." 
As we were but a small party, with only two soldiers, 
the attack of so large a number might have given us 
trouble. A few days later, four of our American friends 
rode along here toward Bethlehem ; when suddenly, 
several Arabs gave a simultaneous signal, and all seized 
their guns, swords, and hoes, and rallied for an attack. 
Their cowardly escort, true to the reputation of these 
Turkish hirelings, were seized with panic, and bade the 
rest of the party to flee for their lives, in which they at 
once set them an example. In their scampering confu- 
sion they were separated, and one of the soldiers in his 
fright ran his horse over the brow of a hill into a Be- 
douin encampment. Then came a scuffle with several 
Arabs at swords' point, from which he emerged with the 
loss of a finger. 

We had a fleet, sure-footed set of horses, qualities 
very necessary in this part of the world. The traveller 
over these Judean hills can pick his path wherever safety 
may dictate, of which these horses generally are the 
best judges. When my confidence and judgment failed 
me along perilous places, I threw the reins down, and 
committed myself, under Providence, to the superior 
judgment of my noble steed. Biding along a steep 
hillside near Bethlehem, where the rocks had been 
washed bare, his feet flew from under him, which left me 
standing over his prostrate body; but this was the only 
mishap that befell him during our whole tour. About a 
mile south-east of Bethlehem, we passed in sight of a 
grassy glen among the hills, where the shepherds watched 
their flocks by night when " the angel of the Lord came 
upon them," with the glad tidings " unto you is born this 

V 



322 



CHUECH OF THE NATIVITY. 



day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the 
Lord." Luke 2. Proceeding westward up a small hill 
through the city gate, then down a narrow street along 
the inside of the wall, we dismounted in an open place 
or small court before the large convent and church of 
the Nativity, at the eastern end of the town, on the brow 
of a hill. We stooped through a low door into the main 
body or nave of the church, which is all that remains of it. 
Along each side, is a double row of twelve columns, making 
forty-eight in all. These support the roof, spanned with 
beams of ancient cedars from Lebanon ; the walls are 
dimly decorated with faded mosaics. The whole is built 
in the Grecian style. This church was erected by He- 
lena, the mother of Constantine, and must therefore be 
over 1500 years old, — the oldest Christian church in 
Palestine. 

Here a venerable monk in a brown, coarse cowl and 
cassock, girded with a rope, received us, and offered to 
serve as our guide. These monks, many of them with- 
out shoes, hats, or any clothing save a piece of cloth 
loosely hung around them ; with flowing beards, and the 
crown of the head shaven, constantly remind one of the 
austerities of Elijah and John the Baptist. This is their 
dress for week-day and Sunday, for summer and winter, 
for at home and on journeys. He handed each of us a 
small lighted candle, and bade us follow him. After 
proceeding to a number of caves or cells in the rocks, 
he took us down a marble stairway of fifteen steps, into 
a room which resembled a basement or cellar. The 
whole is a cave hewn out of the limestone rock, with 
pieces of cloth hung over its rough, natural walls. The 
room or chapel is thirty-five feet long, about half as 
wide, and eight or ten feet high. From the ceiling, 



SCENE OF THE NATIVITY. 



323 



many brilliant gold and silver lamps were hanging, 
which dimly burn day and night from year to year. 
Having no windows, and being under ground, these 
lamps perform a necessary service. 

When we reached the foot of the stairs, I saw a 
number of persons at the other end of the chapel, kneel- 
ing and prostrated around an altar. Softly stepping up 
to the devout group, we found that dazzling gold lamps 
hung above the altar, and under it was a silver star with 
glittering precious stones inwrought, containing the cir- 
cular inscription : Hie de Virgine Maria Jesus Chris- 
tus Natus est (Here Jesus Christ ivas horn of the Vir- 
gin Mary). At this end of the chapel near the altar, 
was another stairway, over which pilgrims were continu- 
ally coming and going. Still, men come from " the 
East," as did "the wise men," to bring presents to the 
new-born King. All left their shoes and sandals 
without, and as soon as they reached the foot of the 
stairs, softly knelt down, or prostrated themselves with 
their faces on the pavement. Just as did the wise men 
from the east, " when they saw the young child with 
Mary his mother, they fell down and worshipped him." 
Not a tread or whisper was heard ; only occasionally a 
half-suppressed groan from some sorrowing heart. For 
a while I watched these pilgrims surrounding the altar 
as if by stealth. Poor ragged men and women, and 
others of princely wealth, with gaudy, flowing robes ; 
some praising, some sorrowing and weeping over their 
sins ; all around the same shrine. 

Some travellers approach the altar with their heads 
full of arguments against the identity of the place. I 
had no disposition to profane it with such calculations. 
Not the spot or the star was the object of worship, but 



324 



CELL OF ST. JEROME. 



Jesus born in Bethlehem, " God manifest in the flesh ;" 
born a helpless babe and nursed by a human mother, 
who fondled and pressed Him to her bosom as other 
mothers do their children ! And then the thought that 
for more than 1700 years, multitudes have come down 
here from all parts of the world, and dropped tears of 
sorrow and tears of joy around this spot, many of whom 
are now in heaven, and others who have failed to get 
there, — all this fills the heart with emotions which can 
only be satisfied in prayer. And I should feel sorry 
had I not with penitence and contrition called upon the 
Saviour at that consecrated shrine, and thanked him 
from a full heart for having been born in Bethlehem. 

The monk led us through a narrow, winding, under- 
ground passage, into a small cave rudely hewn out of the 
rock, once the abode of St. Jerome, one of the most 
illustrious pilgrims that has ever knelt at this shrine. 
Here he lived, labored, meditated, and prayed for thirty 
years, at what he literally believed to be the cradle of the 
Christian religion. His celebrated Vulgate translation 
of the Scriptures, the only received version used by the 
Catholic Church, was issued from this little cell. Here 
the fire of his genius, which he brought from his Dalma- 
tian home, vented itself in a flood of letters, treatises, and 
commentaries, which alike terrified and enlightened the 
western world. In this little rock-chamber occurred his 
last communion and death, a scene which Doruenichino 
has preserved to all the world in his celebrated painting 
in St. Peter's. Often I had mused before it at Rome, 
watching his serene resignation, his frail fleshless frame 
almost seeming to tremble on the canvas, ready to sink 
over as he receives the Holy Communion at the hands 
of the priest, with a grateful mien which seems to say, 



BETHLEHEM. 



325 



"I am ready to depart." His spirit has followed the 
Saviour to heaven, while his dust reposes in an adjoining 
cave. 

The Arabs now call the town Beit Lahin, " House of 
Flesh," whilst its ancient name, Bethlehem, means 
" House of Bread," which perhaps it derived from some 
of the fruitful grain-producing hills around it. The heaps 
of wheat which grain-merchants had piled up in the 
streets were a fitting illustration of the name. When our 
Saviour was born here it became the " House of Bread" 
in a higher sense. For he says: "I am the living bread 
which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this 
bread he shall live forever." John 6 : 51. It is about 
six miles from Jerusalem — only about two hours' walk 
from where our Saviour was born to where he died and 
was buried. Bethlehem and Calvary — joy and sorrow, 
life and death — are never far apart in this world. The 
town is built on the crest of a small hill, surrounded by 
other hills. The whole is surrounded by a wall about 
thirty feet high, with a number of gates through which 
you enter it. "The fenced cities" of the Old Testament 
was only another expression for walled cities, and Beth- 
lehem was one of "the fenced cities of Judah." 2 Chron. 
12 : 4. Its present population is about four thousand, 
all belonging to the Greek Church. As it was little 
among the thousands (cities) of Judah, (Micah 5 : 2) it 
could hardly have had as many inhabitants in the days 
of Christ. It has always occupied an humble place in 
Hebrew history. The inhabitants now have the name 
of being a lawless, quarrelsome people, who are in the 
habit of rebelling against the government. Some of them 
live by farming small patches of the rocky country around 
the town, and from the fruit of the fig, pomegranate, 
28 



326 



RUTH AND B A Z . 



olive and vine, which cover some of the neighboring hills ; 
others live by carving events in the history of our Saviour 
on sea-shells, and other curious trinkets, which they sell 
to the pilgrims that visit Jerusalem during the Easter 
seasons. 

Some places around Bethlehem are always sown with 
grain, where Boaz, the great-grandfather of David, may 
have had his " field," in which Ruth gleaned what his 
reapers had left. East of the town are green hills, 
whither the Bethlehemites still lead their flocks and herds. 
Here possibly the little ruddy son of Jesse kept his 
father's sheep when Samuel came to anoint him King 
over Israel, where he may have composed his beautiful 
Psalm of the Good Shepherd. Psalm 23 ; 2 Sam. 7. 
The country around is rough, even where it is not hilly ; 
the rocks rise above the surface. From some of these 
knobs Naomi could see the hills of Moab, the land of 
her bereavement, where she had buried Elimelech and 
her two sons. It is still a custom for poor women to 
glean after the reapers ; and the salutation, " The Lord 
be with you," which Boaz used when he met his reapers, 
and the greeting which he received in reply, are em- 
ployed to this day between proprietor and laborer in 
the East, in the precise words. The veiled women 
which I saw here reminded me of Ruth. Their veils 
are not the thin gauze of western countries, but are 
made of heavy cotton cloth, amply strong and large 
enough to carry " six measures of barley." Ruth 2, 
3. Once David was sorely tried by thirst, and he ex- 
claimed : " that one would give me drink of the water 
of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate ! " 2 
Sam. 23 : 15. A well or spring not far from one of the 
modern gates would seem precisely to answer to this. 



THE INNS OF PALESTINE. 



327 



The general appearance of Bethlehem is like that of 
other towns in the East, — narrow, crooked streets, flat- 
roofed houses, mostly small, with fronts all walled up 
save a small door. It has no hotel or place of entertain- 
ment. The travellers who tarry here over night, usually 
lodge in the convent. Indeed no town in Palestine has a 
hotel except Jerusalem. Usually they have a khan, con- 
sisting of a large stone building, sometimes only partly 
roofed, put up either by the town's people or the Govern- 
ment, in which strangers lodge — horses, mules, asses, 
and their masters, all in one common room. Provender 
is furnished for the animals, but no boarding for the 
travellers. The English version of the Bible calls these 
buildings inns. Such an inn was already at Bethlehem 
in the days of Jeremiah, built or owned by a man called 
Chimham, for the accommodation of travellers between 
Canaan and Egypt. Jer. 41 : 17. When Joseph and 
Mary came to Bethlehem to " be taxed," together with 
all "of the house and lineage of David," — many hun- 
dred people — " there was no room for them in the inn." 
The streets were crowded with strangers, and the cool 
night was coming on, where should they go ? Then, as 
now, there were caves in and around Bethlehem, as well 
as throughout the Holy Land. Most of them were old 
tombs, or rooms cut out of the rocks to put the dead in, 
with a hole before which a stone was rolled. Abraham 
buried Sarah in a "cave," and Mary and Martha buried 
Lazarus in a "cave," and the sepulchre of our Saviour 
was of the same kind. When the families who made or 
owned them had died out or moved to another place, 
these rock sepulchres would be left open and neglected, 
and often become the hiding-places of offenders and fugi- 
tives. Thus David, Elijah, and others, found refuge 



328 



THE MANGER. 



from their enemies in caves. During the winter, they 
are often used as stables to shelter cattle in ; for in this 
country you find no barns or stables as with us. Thus 
it happened that Joseph and Mary sought shelter in this 
cave under the church, then it would seem used as a 
stable, but open to everybody. While here Mary 
" brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in 
swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger." Luke 2 : 7. 
How singular that our Saviour should both be born and 
buried in a " sepulchre hewn in the rock" ! Joseph and 
Mary had a long way to come (it is between ninety and 
a hundred miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem), over 
rough, hilly roads, in winter and on foot. Most proba- 
bly they came over Jerusalem, as the road hither led that 
way. 

In sooth Bethlehem is a pretty little town. The peo- 
ple are evidently more industrious than is common in the 
East, and in spite of their bad name they leave a plea- 
sant impression upon your mind. Here and there I saw 
a half-grown boy, lying under a tree or in the shadow of 
a vineyard wall, keeping a few sheep or goats, like so 
many little Davids. Venerable men, with flowing grey 
beards, evermore call to your mind good old Jesse. 
Flocks of pigeons flew over the town, such as Mary, like 
all poorer Jews, was permitted to offer up as a sacrifice. 
Luke 2 : 24. The stars over Bethlehem seem to twinkle 
more brightly than those over other towns. "When at 
Jerusalem I would often look at them of a night, and 
think that it was there that the " star stood over where 
the young child was," — the same which guided hither 
the wise men from the East. The grass here seems more 
fresh and green than elsewhere, though it grows upon 
rocks. Even the little hill on which our Saviour was 



ANCIENT TEKOAH. 



329 



born, looks more favored than many other hills of Judea. 
Pretty, pure white flowers bloomed around the edge of it, 
which I was glad to hear them call " the Star of Bethle- 
hem." Never, after the Saviour's birth, is Bethlehem 
mentioned in connection with his history. To have been 
the birth-place of the Son of God, was enough alone to 
render its name immortal. The ground around it is full 
of stones, and much of it is unfit to farm ; and yet it is 
worth more, and has been more highly honored, than any 
other spot on earth. Not in Babylon, Damascus, Alex- 
andria, or Borne ; not even in Jerusalem, but in little 
Bethlehem of Judea Jesus Christ was born. 

Some six or eight miles from Bethlehem heaps of 
crumbling ruins still mark the site of ancient Tekoah. 
There was the home of Amos, " who was among the herd- 
men of Tekoah," where the Lord took him as he ''fol- 
lowed the flock," and sent him to prophesy unto Israel. 
Amos 1:1; 7 : 15. There he foretold the " famine of 
hearing the words of God," which at present curses the 
Promised Land. 8 : 11. When shall the children of 
Abraham again "build the waste cities and inhabit them ; 
and plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof ; and 
make gardens and eat the fruit thereof ;" and be planted 
in their land no more to be pulled up ? 9 : 14, 15. 
There, amid cliffy gorges, is the cave of Adullum, where 
David hid himself from Saul under the earth; where 
" every one that was in distress, and every one that was 
in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered 
themselves unto him; and he became a captain over 
them : and there were with him about four hundred men." 
1 Sam. 22 : 1, 2. In this dreary hiding-place he poured 
out his soul in psalms which have comforted the distressed 
of all Christian ages. 
28* 



330 



RACHEL'S TOMB. 



" In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, 
Until these calamities be overpast. 
I will cry unto God most high, 
Unto God that performeth all things for me. 

I cried unto the Lord with my voice : 

"With my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplications, 

I poured out my complaint before him: 

I shewed before him my trouble. 

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me : 

Then Thou knewest my path." 

Ps. 57 and 142. 

On our way to Jerusalem, about ten minutes from Bethle- 
hem, we came to the tomb of Rachel. The structure cannot 
lay claim to very great antiquity, and the original pillar 
is of course gone, but the spot has been hallowed by 
two incidents of bitter bereavement. Jacob was on his 
way from Bethel to Hebron, where old Isaac was still 
living. When " there was but a little way to Bethlehem," 
Rachel gave birth to her youngest son, and dying, " she 
called his name Ben-oni (son of sorrow) : but his father 
called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried 
in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob 
set a pillar upon her grave : that is the pillar of Rachel's 
grave unto this day." Gen. 35. The aged Jacob, just before 
his death in Egypt, narrates to Joseph the sad incident 
of his mother's death. "And, as for me, when I came 
from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan, 
in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come 
unto Ephrath ; and I buried her there in the way of Eph- 
rath, the same is Bethlehem." Gen. 48 : 7. I dismounted 
and walked around the hallowed spot, which is marked 
by a small building, with a white-washed dome. Within 
is an oblong monument of brick, stuccoed over. The 
place is somewhat solitary, without a tree to shade it, 



THE CONVENT OF ELIJAH. 



331 



but the dust of Jacob's lovely wife, for whom he patiently 
labored fourteen years, imparts a sacredness in spite of 
its forbidding surroundings, where Moslem, Jew, and 
Christian vie to show respect and admiration for the vir- 
tuous wife. The Turks are anxious that their ashes may 
rest near her's, as many of their graves around her 
simple tomb show. 

Not far from Rachel's tomb is a heap of rubbish and 
ruins, which many identify with Ramah. When Herod 
slew all the children of Bethlehem, after Mary and Joseph 
had fled with Jesus to Egypt, " then was fulfilled that 
which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying: In 
Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, 
and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, 
and would not be comforted, because they are not." Matt. 
2 : 17, 18. 

On an elevation about an hour from Jerusalem, we 
passed the convent of Elijah. It stands on the highest 
point between Bethlehem and the city. Mulberry gar- 
dens and vineyards around it, give it a cheerful aspect. 
Along the north of the Bethlehem road a stony and 
uneven plain, sloping down gradually toward the west, 
spread out before us, waving with a heavy crop of wheat. 
This is "the Valley of Rephaim," where David smote 
the Philistines. 2 Sam. 5. Across the ridge he fetched 
"a compass behind them;" and when he heard "the 
sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees," the 
Lord smote the host of the Philistines. A great part of 
this valley has been purchased by the Greek Christians 
at Jerusalem, who are replanting it with mulberry trees. 
Thus its ancient features may, in a few years, be restored 
again. The distance between Bethlehem and Jerusalem 
is about five miles. Near the road a man was ploughing, 



332 



THE OX-GOAD. 



who flew into a terrible rage about something, and vented 
it on his oxen, goading them lustily. One of them threw 
itself on the ground, moaning pitifully, but his fury was 
incapable of pity. The goad is a stick five or six feet 
long, with a pointed iron prick at the lower end, with 
which they guide and goad the ox. The other end has a 
sharp chisel, and is used to clean the share, and to cut the 
roots and briars that choke it. When the poor, unruly 
animal is pricked with the -pointed end, it often kicks, 
as in this case, whether from pain or anger, by which it 
inflicts on itself fresh wounds. The image is applied to 
Saul of Tarsus, who stubbornly persisted to oppose the 
urging of God's Spirit and Providence. The Lord calls 
to him on his way to Damascus : "It is hard for thee to 
kick against the pricks," [goads]. Acts 9 : -5. " The 
words of the wise are as goads." Eccle. 12 : 11. In the 
hands of a strong, valiant man, it can be used with deadly 
effect. Shamgar slew six hundred Philistines with an 
ox-goad. Judges 3 : 31. The Philistines allowed the He- 
brews no smiths, lest they would make them swords and 
spears, but only files to sharpen their goads and other 
farming implements. 1 Sam. 13 : 21. 

Strolling over Mount Zion one day, We came to the 
leper's quarters near the Zion gate. A set of miserable 
beings cried to us from afar, so revoltingly disgusting 
that I felt like turning away with a shudder. Their faces 
are brown, blotched, and bloated, with a scalded com- 
plexion ; some are without eyes, others without nose, 
fingers, or hands. Some had their hands half eaten off ; 
others without hair, deformed beyond description. Their 
voices gurgled and screeched through palateless throats, 
and articulated with tongues decayed to a mere stump, 
with most inhuman and unearthly sounds. Like the ten 



LAWS CONCERNING- LEPERS. 



833 



lepers that came to Jesus, they " stood afar off, lifted up 
their voices " and cried for mercy. Luke IT. A more 
miserable set of beings I have never seen. They seem to 
undergo gradual decomposition before they die. Their 
fingers and limbs drop off joint after joint, till naught but 
a mere stump is left. And no effort is made to heal up 
or apply a remedy to the diseased parts. Just as Isaiah 
has it: ''From the sole of the foot even unto the head, 
there is no soundness in it : but wounds and bruises, and 
putrifving sores; they have not been closed, neither 
bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Isaiah 1 : 6. 

The laws of Moses respecting leprosy were exceedingly 
stringent. To avoid touching others, " the leper in whom 
the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, 
and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall 
cry, Unclean, unclean." Lev. 13 : 15. He was put out 
of the camp. His garments and house were declared 
unclean, and everything he touched. Those Arabs that 
dwell in tents, still literally put the leper out of the 
camp. " He is unclean ; he shall dwell alone, without 
the camp shall his habitation be." Lev. 13 : 46. No 
healthy person will touch them. In Jerusalem they 
have a separate quarter assigned them, reeking with filth 
unspeakable. Outside the Jaffa gate they lingered by 
the wayside, and cried most pitifully for help, but always 
" stood afar off." Nothing short of the miraculous power 
of God can cure the leprosy. "When Naaman applied to 
the King of Israel to be cured of his leprosy, " he rent 
his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and to make 
alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man 
of his leprosy?" 2 Kings 5. One of the strongest 
proofs of Christ's Divinity was, that by Him " the lepers 
are cleansed." 



834 



THE LEPROSY. 



In the 13th and 14th chapters of Leviticus we have a 
full description of its symptoms and phases, and of the 
laws concerning it. This description portrays the leprosy 
of the present day, in all its pitiful details. It perpetu- 
ates itself from parent to child. The new-born infant 
has a smooth skin, apparently free from it. Presently 
" a scab or bright spot " faintly appears, and the leprous 
virus spreads and grows with its growth. " The hair 
falls from the head and eyebrows ; the nails loosen, de- 
cay, and drop off ; joint after joint of the fingers and toes 
shrink up, and slowly fall away. The gums are absorbed, 
and the teeth disappear. The nose, the eyes, the tongue, 
and the palate are slowly consumed, and finally the 
wretched victim sinks into the earth and disappears, 
while medicine has no power to stay the ravages of this 
fell disease, or even to mitigate sensibly its tortures." 

With some persons it is- not hereditary; in such cases 
it is still regarded as the direct result of the curse of 
God for some sin. So it was in the case of Miriam, 
Gehazi, and Uzziah, who were smitten with leprosy for 
their offences against God. Numbers 12 : 10 ; 2 Kings 
5 : 27 ; 2 Chron. 26 : 20. Of all the numerous diseases 
which flesh is heir to, I can conceive of none so loathsome 
as this. Its victim is excluded from all that can make 
affliction endurable. Shunned by all, his case excites 
horror and disgust rather than commiseration. He must 
have food, but his pestilential touch deprives him of 
honest labor to procure it. He sees others around him 
with the smooth joyous flush of health, but they move in 
another world, from which he is wholly cut off. His 
creaking wailings for bread only excite a shudder. The 
very money he begs becomes worthless in his leprous 
hands, so that others dread its touch and fear to receive 



END OF THE LEPER. 



885 



it. If he seek relief in Religion, he is shut out from 
mosque, synagogue, and church. There is no religious 
fellowship with a leper. None but his fellow lepers come 
to his dying couch, and when he expires they will call 
him blessed for having ended his miserable existence 
here, whatever may become of him hereafter; while they 
have to die piecemeal for a while longer, as one joint 
and member after another decays away. 



336 



POPULATION OF JERUSALEM. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



The whole population of Jerusalem is estimated at 
from twelve to fifteen thousand. Of these there are 
about four thousand Christians ; as many Jews ; and the 
rest are Mohammedans. Each of these are confined to 
separate quarters of the city. The Christian quarter extends 
along the western part; the Jews occupy the northeast- 
ern part of Mount Zion, which embraces the greater part 
of it within the wall ; the Mohammedans live in the mid- 
dle and lower part. Each of these forms a distinct, 
exclusive community, with all the mutual hatred and 
antagonism which has ever distinguished them. It is 
said that no Jew is allowed to enter the Church of the 
Sepulchre. Neither Jew nor Christian is allowed to enter 
the mosques of Omar and El-Aksa. Then the Jews and 
Christians are split up into bitter parties among them- 
selves. The present population of Jerusalem is a com- 
pound of the most conflicting and incoherent elements, 
hating, and being hated, with all their might. 

The Armenian quarter is on the western side of Zion, 
and their church and convent near its gate. The former 
is a magnificent edifice. The walls inside are overlaid 
with polished china tiles, and much of its ornamenting is 
of gold. It contains a heavy gilded chair, reputed to 



A DAKGBROUS DIGNITY. 



337 



have belonged to St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusa- 
lem. Erom the roof of the convent we had* a charming 
view of the environs of the citj. The Armenian Patri- 
arch, an old, grey -bearded man, sat behind a counter, in 
a large hall, receiving money. Envy and lust for money 
render his place and life very precarious. It is said 
that none of his predecessors, for many years, have died 
a natural death. Attempts have been made to poison 
the present venerable incumbent. He mistrusts his 
own servants, and only receives food from his most trust- 
worthy and confidential friends. This convent has about 
six hundred inmates, and during the present Easter festi- 
val is said to have entertained six thousand pilgrims. 

Ti:e Jews are nearly all foreigners. The most of them 
are from Spain and Turkey ; some from Russia, Poland, 
and Germany. They show little of that cunning shrewd- 
ness in trafiic for which their nation has become so famous 
in other countries. Many are the most abject specimens 
of poverty and filth. They have come hither to die in 
the land of their fathers, and be buried in the valley of 
Jehoshaphat ; beyond this they have little concern. A 
large part of these are supported by collections and by 
the contributions of wealthy Jews from different Quarters 
of the globe. This fosters their reckless, do-nothing 
spirit. 

Early one morning a Jew led us to their synagogues, 
where his brethren were offering their morning devotions. 
By far the filthiest part of Jerusalem is this Jewish 
quarter — a perfect Augean stable, — where slaughter- 
houses and heaps of rotten rubbish reek, and fill the air 
with sickening stenches. We entered a synagogue, where 
a rabbi was seated on a divan, expounding the law to a 
little congregation around him. He spoke very rapidly; 
29 w 



338 



JEWISH WORSHIP. 



occasionally some of Ms hearers would exclaim, " La, la, 
la," (no, no, no,) whether by way of assent or dissent, I 
do not knew. On a gallery I noticed white-veiled women, 
behind a trellised screen, peeping through the holes 
down upon the worshippers, as if they had to get their 
religion by stealth. The Grand Patriarch, a venerable, 
hoary man, was seated on a raised platform, with several 
rabbis around him. When he rose to leave, at the end 
of the service, a number of them kissed his hand in token 
of reverence. 

At another synagogue we found them singing the 
Psalms of David. Each seemed to sing on his own hook, 
without regard to sound or harmony — producing a dis- 
sonant and most unmelodious noise. One of their num- 
ber, a Prussian, remarked to me that they were the only 
genuine, orthodox Jews in Jerusalem. " We keep the 
old Mosaic Law ; all the others are modern Jews, that 
have a law of their own making." A literal Pharisee, 
doubtless, deserving to be classed with the " straightest 
sect " of the ancients. His less-zealous brethren may be 
Sadducees, Jewish Rationalists, who put a more liberal 
construction upon the Law. 

At the western exterior side of the wall around the tem- 
ple area, toward the southern end of it, are large stones 
near the base of the wall, dressed after the manner of 
ancient building stones, which the Jews and many others 
suppose to have been in the walls of the ancient temple. 
Some of them purchase the right to approach this spot 
and bewail the fall and desolation of their nation and 
temple, from which it derives the name of "Wailing place 
of the Jews." Every Friday afternoon, the evening be- 
fore their Sabbath, they come hither to perform this 



THE EXILED JEWS. 



339 



melancholy service, in the secluded narrow alley that 
runs along the outside of the wall. 

After the capture of Jerusalem by Hadrian, the Jews 
were entirely excluded from the city. In the reign of 
Constantine they were permitted to get a distant glimpse 
of it from neighboring hills, but could approach no nearer. 
Finally the Roman soldiers sold them the privilege to 
enter the city once a year, on the anniversary of its 
capture by Titus, to wail over the ruins of the temple. 
Subsequently this privilege was extended, though some- 
times they bought it at enormous prices. 

On a Friday afternoon we threaded the narrow streets 
which lead to this place. Near it is a Moslem judgment- 
hall, with a verandah overlooking the whole scene, and 
from here we witnessed their pitiful ceremonies. About 
sixty or seventy Jews had collected there, two-thirds of 
them women, dressed and veiled in white linen. Here 
and there small groups stood near the wall, listening to 
old men with flowing grey beards, who sat on the ground 
reading lamentations to the rest ; some were swinging 
their bodies and smiting their breasts in token of grief, 
with their faces toward the wall ; others wailed and 
wept ; some of the women kissed the stones ; all muttered 
half-suppressed wailings, some even with tears, praying 
still as their fathers had done for centuries before : "Be 
not wroth very sore, Lord, neither remember iniquity 
forever : behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy 
people. Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wil- 
derness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beau- 
tiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up 
with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste." 
Isaiah 64 : 9-11. 

The burden of Jeremiah's lamentation was literally 



340 



JERUSALEM LAMENTED. 



before us : " Therefore lie made the rampart and the wall 
to lament ; they languished together. Her gates are sunk 
into the ground ; he hath destroyed and broken her bars. 
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground 
and keep silence ; they have cast up dust upon their 
heads." Lamentations 2. In their own city, once the 
"joy of the whole earth, the perfection of beauty," the 
centre of their worship, the dwelling place of the Most 
High, and the type of the "Jerusalem above," they sneak 
to their synagogues like slaves and prisoners, while their 
hateful rulers pass them by with scowling contempt. 
Their Holy of Holies, with its officiating High Priest, 
trembling with awe, is trodden upon by the profane feet 
of their foes. Their altar is ruined, and the grateful 
incense no longer curls heavenward at their morning 
and evening sacrifices. The voice of their sweet singers 
has been hushed, and the immense festive multitudes that 
crowded around the temple, come no longer up hither. 
The heavenly fire that kindled their offerings, has been 
extinguished. " The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath 
abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand 
of the enemy the walls of her palaces." The din and 
noise of the crowds of Moslems in the Mosque of Omar, 
on Fridays and festival days, reminds them of their own 
festivals. " They have made a noise in the house of the 
Lord, as in the day of a solemn feast." " Our inherit- 
ance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. We 
have drunken our water for money ; our wood is sold to 
us. Our fathers have sinned, and are not ; and we have 
borne their iniquities." Lamentations 5. And while they 
endure this, their chuckling tyrants " wag their head at 
the daughter of Jerusalem, saying : Is this, the city that 
men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole 



ANCIENT VAULT. 



341 



earth?" Lamentations 2 : 15. This the poor Jew has 
borne for eighteen centuries. For more than six hundred 
long years he has kissed these stones in the wall, and 
cried sorrowfully to his God : " How long shall the land 
mourn?" A more touching and impressive spectacle 
than these lamenting Jews can nowhere be found. While 
watching their lamentations, a few turtle-doves familiarly 
walked in the holes of the wall right above them, and but 
a few rods from where the ancients used to sacrifice them 
on the temple altar. Luke 2 : 24. 

Walking along the southern end of the city, an English 
gentleman directed my attention to a hole in the wall 
about ten feet from the ground. Seeing no Turkish sen- 
tinels about, we climbed up and looked through the small 
holes of the wooden screen that covered it. Inside was a 
vault with nine or ten large columns, which we faintly 
discerned by the aid of a few cracks at the opposite end. 
It is well known that during the Hebrew dominion of 
Jerusalem, the priests were in the habit of going to the 
pool of Siloam in procession, to bring water to the tem- 
ple. This vault ranges with the temple and the lower 
pool of Siloam, and is naturally regarded by some as 
identical with this ancient passage. 

The general appearance of the houses in Jerusalem is 
like that of most other oriental towns. Usually the front 
presents a solid wall, very rarely with windows, and these 
mostly have lattice-work over them instead of glass. A 
small door, with a wooden latch, admits you to the inte- 
rior court, around which are the rooms for the family. 
A stairway leads to the flat roof, sometimes with a small 
round dome in the centre. Many of the rooms and houses 
are roofed with thick arched walls, to exclude the heat in 
summer. Almost every house has a cistern to supply it 
29* 



342 



BAZAARS IN JERUSALEM. 



with water. Besides these there are the large pools and 
cisterns in various parts of the city. 

The bazaars are pretty much in the centre of the city. 
All the business and trade of Jerusalem is collected here. 
Ordinarily this is trifling enough. "When the city is 
thronged with pilgrims during the Easter festival, the 
bazaars are crowded. But all commerce and street bustle 
vanishes with these. Its traffic and streets know no Sab- 
bath rest. Jerusalem, like all Eastern cities, has three 
Sabbath-days every week, — Friday, Saturday, and Sun- 
day ; but they differ little from her other days. 

Including the pilgrims, there must have been from 
25,000 to 30,000 people in Jerusalem when I was there. 
At some of the Jewish feasts there were hundreds of 
thousands present. Under the governorship of Cestius 
there were over two millions and a half present at a Pass- 
over festival. Of course a great part of these must have 
dwelt in tents without the city walls. When the " moun- 
tains round about Jerusalem " were peopled with these 
immense festive throngs, with the city and temple in the 
centre, sending up clouds of sacrificial incense, while all 
prayed with their faces towards it ; when on the hill-tops 
they caught the anthem peals of the sweet singers in the 
temple, and rolled back a responsive tide of praise, the 
whole must have been a scene of enrapturing interest. 

Most of the towns and villages of Judea were on hill- 
tops, but Jerusalem was pre-eminently so. Its situation is 
on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of Palestine. 
Hebron is a few hundred feet higher, so that the approach 
from this direction is by a slight descent. But from every 
other side you approach it by an ascent. To the travel- 
ler it must always have appeared as a mountain city, 
whose pure bracing air contrasted pleasantly with the 



MOUNTAIN STRONGHOLDS. 



343 



miasmatic atmosphere of Jericho and with the dead plain 
of Damascus. It was " the mountain throne," the " moun- 
tain sanctuary of God." " His foundation is in the holy 
mountains." Ps. 87 : 1. " The hill of God is as the hill 
of Bashan ; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. This is 
the mountain which God delighteth to dwell in." Ps. 
68 : 15-16. From this mountain elevation Israel looked 
out upon the world. It was " the mountain of the Lord's 
house," — " established on the tops of the mountains" — 
exalted above the hills " — " to which all nations should 
go up." Isa. 2. When "the Lord had a controversy 
with his people," it was to be " before the mountains and 
the hills" and " the strong foundations of the earth." 
Micah 6 : 1, 2. " Whither the tribes go up" " the hills 
from whence cometh my help." Ps. 121, 122. These are 
all metaphors taken from the elevated position of Jerusa- 
lem and Zion, where God had his dwelling-place. These 
heights and depths of Jerusalem, (the mountain on which 
it is built, and the wells and the vaults under it,) are 
beautifully symbolical of the incomprehensible heights 
and depths of Him who made it His ancient abode. 

This mountain culminated in the highest point of the 
city; the ''stronghold of Zion, the same is the city of 
David." Here the Jebusites defied him from their strong 
fortress, with its "everlasting gates," which had never 
opened to an enemy. Hitherto the Jews had dwelt out- 
side of Jerusalem. They had captured almost every pro- 
vince of Canaan ; but here was a clan in a fort which 
seemed to mock every attempt of Jewish invaders. Joshua, 
Deborah, Samuel, Saul, and David, must often have 
passed in sight of it, and gazed on its towers. After the 
destruction of Shiloh, the worship of Israel was conducted 
at Nob on the northern summit of Olivet, in sight of Jeru- 



344 VICISSITUDES OF THE HOLY CITY. 



salem. Here, in sight of this uncon quered " stronghold " 
of Jebus, they worshipped during the earlier years of 
Saul. Here David stopped in his flight from Saul, and 
received hallowed bread from Ahimelech the priest. 1 Sam. 
21. Finally, after he was anointed King over Israel at 
Hebron, he took the city, and " dwelt in the fort." 2 Sam. 
5. Ever afterward Jerusalem remained the capital of 
the Hebrew nation, and the centre of their worship. 

It was demolished by the Babylonians 477 years later. 
Then it was successively taken by Shishak, King of 
Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, Pompey, Sosius, 
Herod, and finally by Titus, in the reign of Vespasian. 
Adrian having destroyed it, built a new town, which, 
for several centuries, went by the name of iElia. Con- 
stantino restored its ancient name, and adorned it with 
splendid churches and other edifices. Then began the 
pilgrimages thither from all parts of Christendom ; mil- 
lions upon millions since then have knelt around the 
Holy Sepulchre. The city has passed through checkered 
and trying vicissitudes for the last 1400 years. The 
Persians took it with a great slaughter. In 614 it w T as 
sacked and plundered, and the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre burned. In 636 it was captured and totally 
taken from the Christians by the Caliph Omar. Erom 
this on we know little about its history until 1099, when 
the Crusades began. After many hundred thousand 
Crusaders had perished by pestilence, famine, and the 
Moslems, they got possession of the city. In 1187, the 
Mohammedans recaptured it, after being under Christian 
dominion for less than one hundred years. The red 
crescent flag of the Turk still floats over the Tower and 
City of David. It has now existed about 4000 years. 
During this period, it has shared largely in the world's 
eventful history, — " and the end is not yet ! " 



FUTURE 01 JERUSALEM. 



345 



It would require a prophet's ken to surmise what part 
Jerusalem will be likely to act in the future history of 
the world. Apparently it is an insignificant inland town. 
It has neither population nor commerce to give it im- 
portance. It is thirty miles from the sea-coast, too far 
for commercial purposes. A great part of its inhabitants 
are non-producing monks and indolent Jews. Yet every 
firs: and second-rate government must have its represent- 
ative in Jerusalem. England. Austria. Prussia, France, 
Russia, the United States, all have their consuls here. 
The city itself, apart from its history and peculiar rela- 
tions to the religious world, does not deserve all this 
attention. Evidently there is a growing interest drifting 
toward Jerusalem, which causes nations to turn their eyes 
thither : for what purpose the future will show. 

My last ac: in Jerusalem was another brief visit to 
Gethsemane on the morning of our departure. I hur- 
ried out the St. Stephen's gate, clown the hill and across 
the Kedron, and paused a few moments in the Chapel of 
the Virgin Mary. A flight of stairs, consisting of sixty 
steps, led me down into a dark basement, where flicker- 
ing festoons of lamps hung over head. Though early in 
the morning, a goodly number of persons were already 
there, singing and praying with apparent devotion. An 
earnest rap at the heavy little gate of Gethsemane, soon 
brought the monk with his large key, and a smiling 
"Banjo u r, m o n s ieur. 

I meditated awhile under the trellised vine, and read 
the narrative of the Saviour's agony with much comfort, 
and called upon him for needed grace to be faithful to him. 
As I rose to leave, the monk plucked a small bunch of 
roses for me, and then I hastened back to the city. 

For several days before our departure it was rumored 



346 



TOMBS OF THE KINGS. 



that the Arab tribes between Jerusalem and Nablous were 
about to engage in battle, and that it would be very 
unsafe to start on a journey. Travellers were fearful of ven- 
turing through here at such a time, and with good reason. 
Finally, at the advice of the English consul, we concluded to 
make the trial. We had hired the animals and muleteers 
to take us clear through to Beirut. At half past ten we 
mounted our horses, kissed the hand toward our host, 
Antonio, and rode up the Way of Sorrow for the last 
time. With difficulty we worked our way along the 
crowded bazaars and out the Jaffa gate. Lepers cried 
after us " from afar" along the wayside. The owner 
of our horses took formal leave of us, by kissing our hands, 
and asking us to be kind to his brother, who was going 
along. We rode around the northern end of the city, 
past a heap of ashes, supposed to have been poured down 
from the wall of the ancient city. We felt desirous to 
visit the Tombs of the Kings, a short distance north of 
the city, and dismounted for that purpose ; but, looking 
through the low door into a dark chamber, it occurred 
to us that we had neglected to bring lights along. There 
are many tombs of this kind in the neighborhood of 
Jerusalem, of a great variety of sizes and shapes. Some 
of them are, doubtless, still buried with rubbish. Some 
are single graves, hewn out of the rock ; others consist 
of a chamber, entered by a door, with, several niches or 
shelves to put the dead in ; others have a series of 
chambers, with their shelves. The doors of some consist 
of a round stone, shaped somewhat like a millstone, set 
upright in a groove, in which it can be rolled to the door 
without much effort, yet perhaps too much for females to 
perform. So Joseph, after he had laid our Saviour "in 
his own new tomb, hewn out in a rock ; he rolled a great 



ROCK CISTERNS. 



347 



stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed." Matt. 
27 : 60. ''And the women, going to the sepulchre, said 
to one another, Who shall roll us away the stone from 
the door of the sepulchre ? " Mark 16:3. 

This country, especially Judea, abounds with empty 
cisterns, cut out of the rocks — often called "pits" in 
the Scriptures. The open, uncovered mouth is several 
feet square, with nothing around it ; so that man and 
beast are constantly in danger of falling into them. 
" Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a 
pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath- 
day?" Luke 14 : 5. Some have not been repaired or 
used for hundreds of years, and are without water, or 
perhaps half filled with mire. "The dungeon" or pit 
into which Jeremiah was put " had no water, but mire : 
so Jeremiah sunk into the mire." Jer. 38 : 6. The 
jealous sons of Jacob cast Joseph " into a pit : and the 
pit was empty ; there was no water in it." Gen. 37 : 24. 
The dependent, leaky cisterns, which, different from the 
self-sufficient flowing fountains, derive their water from 
the rains or pools — and then often cannot hold it — fur- 
nished Jeremiah with one of his most striking and in 
structive metaphors : " For my people have committed 
two evils ; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living 
waters, and hewed them out cisterns — broken cisterns, 
that can hold no water." Jer. 2 : 13. Perhaps our Sa- 
viour had these numerous pit-falls in his mind, into which 
the incautious footman is so liable to fall, when He said 
of the Pharisees : " If the blind lead the blind, both shall 
fall into the ditch*" Matt. 15 : 14. 

About three-quarters of an hour from the city we 
reached a hill-top, supposed to be " the seopus" of Titus 
where he had his first view of Jerusalem. We turned 



348 



MIZPEH AND GIBEON. 



our horses to take a parting view of the most interesting 
of all earth's cities. Her ruined and mournful aspect 
melted away in the distance, and again she looked " beau- 
tiful for situation." Here we take leave of the earthly 
Jerusalem, down-trodden, persecuted, ruined. " Pray for 
the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love 
thee." Soon may the happy day come, when 

" The ransomed of the Lord shall return, 
And come to Zion with songs, 
And everlasting joy upon their heads." 

Isaiah 35 : 10. 

On a hill-top west of us we saw Mizpeh, where Samuel 
used to assemble the Israelites. 1 Sam, 7:5; 10 : 17. 
Between two and three hours from Jerusalem we passed 
"Gibeah of Saul" — a green hill spread over with olive 
trees. 1 Sam. 10 : 26 ; 2 Sam. 21 : 6. Half an hour 
further we reached another low hill, crowned with a few 
Arab hovels amidst clusters of olives, the site of Gibeon, 
where Joshua fought the five kings. In the heat of the 
battle the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon 
his enemies. And when the evening came on, with the 
battle unfinished, Joshua bade Time to stop on its onward 
march, and the sun and moon " hasted not to go down 
about a whole day. And there was no day like that be- 
fore it or after it." Joshua 10. It was here that the 
Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said: "Ask 
what I shall give thee." And Solomon asked neither for 
long life, nor for riches, nor the life of his enemies ; but 
for "understanding to discern judgment." 1 Kings 3 : 4-14. 

According to an old custom, which allows no early 
start from Jerusalem, the Easter pilgrims still make Bir, 
near ancient Gibeon, their first stopping place on their 



JACOB'S DREAM. 



349 



homeward way, where the ruined walls of a convent have 
been converted into an ; 'inn," for their accommodation. 
Their chief reason for stopping here, however, is the tra- 
dition that Joseph and Mary "went a day's journey" 
hither, where they sought Jesus, but twelve years old, 
'•among their kinsfolk and among their acquaintance. " 
Luke '2: U. 

After a brief interval of repose in the shade of a crum- 
bling wall near a well, at this first halting place of the 
pilgrims, we proceeded to Bethel. A village on a hill, 
with still higher hills around it. at present bears this dis- 
tinguished name. It is at a distance of about fifteen 
miles from Jerusalem. Rocks and heaps of stones every- 
where abound, interspersed with an occasional green spot 
of wheat or barley. The houses and ruins of the village 
cover an area of three or four acres. While the rest 
stopped outside, I rode through some of its crooked lanes 
to get a nearer view of the modern Bethelites. My ap- 
pearance created quite a sensation. Men and women 
stared at me. and a herd of children left their play and 
shouted "howaje, howaje," and, of course, bucksheesh. An 
old Arab pointed me to the lower end of the town, where 
I found the massive ruins of a church, with walls ten feet 
thick. 

On one of the high hills east of Bethel Abraham 
pitched his tent, where he built an altar and called on 
the name of the Lord. Gen. 12 : 8. It was quite natural, 
amid such a profusion of stones, that Jacob should gather 
a few for his pillow, as he laid him down to rest one night 
on his way to Haran. Here he had his dream, and be- 
held i; a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it 
reached to heaven : and behold the angels of God ascend- 
ing and descending on it." Gen. 28. Afterward he re- 
30 



350 



FIG PLANTATIONS. 



turned hither and built an altar, and called the place 
"Beth-el," " House of God." Gen. 35 : 14, 15. Samuel 
came to Bethel once a year to judge the people. After 
the ten tribes had seceded, Jeroboam erected a golden 
calf here and led the people to commit idolatry. 1 Kings 
12 : 28. Then Josiah destroyed its idols and altars, 
and burned upon them dead men's bones from the sepul- 
chres. 2 Kings 23 : 15, 16. 

After leaving Bethel we came to large fig plantations, 
on steep, terraced hills, extending from top to base ; 
some of them were planted in regular rows, with pome- 
granates between them. They were unusually large — 
from one to two feet in diameter. There is an early kind, 
that bears a large green fig, which in the south of 
Palestine ripens in April. They often have fruit be- 
fore leaves, especially the early kind. When the Sa- 
viour cursed the fig tree on Olivet, the time for the late 
figs had not yet come. The leaves on the tree gave Him 
the greater reason to expect fruit on it. Mark 11. I 
should infer from the thriving appearance of the fig tree, 
when in other soil, apparently better, it looks so dwarfish, 
that some are still in the habit to " dig about it, and 
dung it." Luke 13 : 8. We encamped at The well of the 
Thieves, in a grassy ravine, an hour and a half beyond 
Bethel. The hot day was followed by a cool, damp night, 
anything but agreeable to dwellers in tents. 

Our horses and Syrian muleteers have brought us 
greater comfort, but they lack the picturesque and poet- 
ical element of the Bedouins and their camels. The 
heavy chests and bales had to be lifted on the backs of 
the horses, for they had not been taught to kneel in re- 
ceiving their burdens. There was a great flourish of 
swords and guns among our Syrians to intimidate the 



THE PLAIN OF SALEM. 



351 



robbers, but it is to be feared that there was more show 
than real grit and courage among us. 

April 21st. — We continued our journey across in- 
terminable hills, and threaded their narrow valleys. In 
a few hours we passed out of Judea into Samaria. 
Shiloh, once the centre of Hebrew worship, we passed 
several hours to our right. 1 Sam. 1. The insecurity 
of the country made it unsafe to separate from the bag- 
gage and muleteers, and in this hilly region we could not 
always take them with us, so that we had to leave some 
interesting places unvisited. Descending a steep stony 
hill, we came to the Khan el-Lubban, an old unshaded 
ruin. Near by was a copious fountain, around which 
the women of a neighboring village were washing. The 
stream was their wash-tub, and stones their washing 
machines, on which they beat their garments. Other 
women were filling skins with water and conveying them 
home on donkeys, to the village of Lubban, about two 
miles off, which Robinson thinks is the Lebonah of the 
Bible. Judges 21 : 19. 

The fountain is at the end of a lovely plain about 
fifteen miles long, with luxuriant wheat-fields and pastur- 
age. Tradition says that this is the plain of Salem, 
whose King " Melchizedek, the priest of the most high 
God, brought forth bread and wine" to Abraham on his 
return from battle. Gen. 14 : 18. Heb. 7. On a neigh- 
boring mountain-top the tomb of a Mohammedan saint 
was embowered among a group of trees. Here and 
there an old rough-rinded olive stood on the plain. The 
Mohammedans seldom plant shade trees, save around the 
tombs of the revered dead. The villages here and else- 
where have rarely a tree to shade them. The intense 
heat of the sun had roasted the earth in the streets into 



352 



THE PURPLE LILY. 



deep dust, over which the visible air shook in quivering 
wavelets. Squalid Arab women and children were creep- 
ing and crouching around the little doors of their hovels, 
like mice around their holes. Nowhere but in their filthy 
pens have they shade to shelter them from the burning 
sun. 

We found a large dark-purple lily here, and afterward 
in the plain of Jezreel, whose color and texture were of 
uncommon beauty. The large petal, with an exceedingly 
fine texture, and a soft gorgeously purple surface, re- 
sembled a very fine silk velvet. I tried to preserve 
specimens, but the color and rich gloss vanished when 
they faded. I have seen no allusion to it by other 
travellers, but it seems to me the Saviour must have had 
this in His mind when He spoke of the lily. " Solomon 
in all his glory " as well as other kings, great men and 
rich, were in the habit of wearing purple. The kings 
of Midian wore purple raiment. Judges 8 : 26. Mordecai 
and the rich man wore it. And when the Jews wanted 
to mock our Saviour as their pretended King, they and 
the soldiers "clothed Him with purple." I take it that 
Christ must have had such a charming purple lily in 
view when he said : " Consider the lilies of the field how 
they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin ; and yet 
I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory, was 
not arrayed like one of these." Matt. 6 : 28, 29. 



THE PLAIN OF MUKHNA. 



353 



CHAPTER XV. 

€|i Will nf 3nrnli— lamina. 



April 2.1st. — While the mountains of Juclea are mostly 
conical, in Samaria they run in ridges and long chains, 
forming large fertile plains. The Judean hills are much 
harder to farm. The soil can only he kept on them hy 
means of walls and terraces. Where these are gone, 
there is seldom anything hut the hare limestone rocks. 
The mountains of Samaria are only used for pasturage. 
The large plains, with a soft rich soil free from rocks, 
are easily cultivated. Even in their present neglected 
condition, some of them appear as charming as a Para- 
dise. At noon we reached a hill-top overlooking the 
large plain of Mukhna. The view was most enrapturing. 
The broad valley, from two to three miles wide and 
several hours long, was nestled between lofty hills. The 
whole of it was cultivated, a perfect sea of waving ver- 
dure, with, here and there, a white turban starting out 
of the wheat ; and awkward ploughmen goaded on their 
oxen, and others sowed their spring seed. Clumps of 
olive trees were thinly scattered along the foot of the 
mountain. Here and there a small mud-colored village 
hung on a hillock like a magnified wasp's nest. The 
mountains of Ebal and Gerizim rose up into view with 
lofty prominence. Near their base was a small white 
30* x 



354 



JACOB'S WELL. 



mosque over the reputed grave of Joseph, close to the 
well of Jacob. 

We rode leisurely over this charming plain, viewing 
its fields and people, and musing over its history. Its 
products, as then seen, were barley, wheat, flax, and 
millet. At the mouth of a narrow valley, connecting 
with the plain from the west, and formed by Ebal and 
Gerizim, was a small hill, like a heap of earth and stones, 
over and around the mouth of Jacob's well. We crept 
and slid down through a small hole into a stone vault, 
which is perhaps fifteen or twenty feet long, arched over 
the mouth of the well. A large, loose stone is said to 
cover it, which we could not find for the other stones 
scattered over it. The well is now about seventy-five feet 
deep — "the well is deep," as the Samaritan woman 
told Jesus. Its quantity of water varies somewhat with 
the seasons of the year. 

Standing on this elevation at the mouth of the well, 
Mr. M— — told me to read the fourth chapter of John 
aloud. If this chapter had been written that week, the 
natural objects around the well could not have corres- 
ponded more perfectly with its contents. The top of 
Mount Gerizim was in sight, a mile or two off, where the 
Samaritans, then as now, worshipped round a common 
altar. They held that only those who worshipped here 
could be saved, and the Jews said: "In Jerusalem is 
the place where men ought to worship." Although 
Christ told the woman, that salvation is of the Jews, 
He pointed her to the Catholic spiritual worship of the 
Gospel, which would neither be confined to Jerusalem 
nor Gerizim. Sitting at the well, we may imagine Him 
pointing to the Samaritan altar right above on Gerizim, 
when He said: "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh 



THE VALE OF SHECHEM. 



355 



when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jeru- 
salem, worship the Father When the true wor- 
shippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth : 
for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." 

Turning toward the plain, we had a complete view of 
it from our elevated position. A gentle wind blew across 
the grain, rolling green waves over the top. The wheat 
was just turning white, and the barley was fast ripening. 
Though the harvest was approaching, some were sowing 
the spring or summer seed. Just such a scene spread 
out to the Saviour's view, when he rested himself on the 
spot where I stood. 44 Say not ye, There are yet four 
months, and then cometh harvest ? behold, I say unto yon, 
lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ; for they are 
white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receivcth 
wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal : that both 
he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 
And herein is that saying true, One soweth and another 
reapeth," John 4. 

The little valley which runs into the plain here is the 
ancient vale of Shechem, about 500 yards wide at 
its greatest width. This was Abraham's first halting 
place when he came from Haran. Here Canaan was 
first promised to his seed by the Lord, and here 44 he 
builded an altar." Gen. 12 : 7. Jacob pitched his tent 
here when he came from Padan-aram, and he bought a 
parcel of a field where he had spread his tent (before the 
city). This 44 field" doubtless means the large fruitful 
valley of which Shechem is only a 'small arm. Gen. 
33 : 18-20. In this 44 field" before the city, Jacob con- 
tinued to pasture his flocks. When he had pitched his 
tent at Hebron, his sons 44 went to feed their father's 
flock in Shechem," and he sent Joseph to see whether it 



356 



JESUS AT THE WELL. 



was well with them. Gen. 37. This fruitful dale was 
Joseph's portion, whose present productiveness well cor- 
responds with the eloquent description Jacob gave it, 
when bestowing his dying blessing upon his illustrious 
son. "And the bones of Joseph, which the childreu of 
Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, 
in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of 
Hamor, the father of Shechem, for an hundred pieces of 
silver." Joshua 24 : 32. According to Acts 7 : 15-16, 
the brethren of Joseph (fathers) were likewise brought 
from Egypt and buried here. Ten minutes from the well 
a little white-washed stone mosque marks his grave. 

The most interesting incident connected with this 
region is that of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan 
woman. Walking up over this long plain, on his way 
from Judea to Galilee, through the hot sun, for it was 
mid-day, " being wearied with his journey," he sat on 
the stone border which rose around the well, waiting until 
the disciples should bring meat from the city. He was 
dry, but he had neither cord nor vessel to draw up water. 
Just then a Samaritan woman came from a neighboring 
village or " city " to fetch water. To give a stranger a 
drink was a sacred duty which only the most unfeeling 
could withhold. When Rebekah gave a drink to Abra- 
ham's servant, she performed but an ordinary act of 
kindness. Gen. 24 : 18. But the bitter hatred between 
the Jews and Samaritans had reached such a pitch, that 
the women was surprised to be asked for a drink by one 
who was a Jew. The Jews looked upon a " Samaritan" 
as incapable of a good act, and deserving of contempt; 
hence they had no dealings with the Samaritans. The 
old spirit of hatred and jealousy was kept in a constant 
flame by their rival altars and the intermediate position 



THE ROUTE THROUGH SAMARIA. 



857, 



of Samaria, between Judea and Galilee. Every Jew 
wishing to pass from Judea to Galilee, or the reverse, like 
the Saviour, "must needs go through Samaria," the 
despised country, or cross the Jordan and go up by way 
of Jericho to Jerusalem. This latter route most of the 
Galileans going to the festivals at Jerusalem took in our 
Saviour's time. They crossed the Jordan on the north, 
came down on the other side, and recrossed opposite 
Jericho. This way Jesus came on his last journey to the 
Holy City. The Jews were willing to endure the greater 
distance of this route, and the trouble of twice fording 
the river, only so as to avoid their hated and, to them, 
unclean rivals. 

The wells of Palestine are interesting monuments of 
sacred antiquity. Wrought out of the solid limestone, 
they become permanent monuments, which are rarely 
obliterated. They are the only surviving links, made 
with hands, which connect us with the remote patriarchal 
age. This well is ascribed to Jacob; it was so in our 
Saviour's day. It is connected with the earliest and 
latest events in sacred history. 

About a mile from the well of Jacob, is Nablous, in 
the vale of Shechem. This vale is formed by two moun- 
tains, Gerizim and Ebal, which rise high above it, here 
about three-quarters of a mile in width. On these two 
mountains the curses and blessings were read by the 
Levites, after the Hebrews had taken possession of Ca- 
naan: "Half of them over against mount Gerizim, and 
half of them over against mount Ebal ; as Moses the ser- 
vant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should 
bless the people." Deut. 27, 28 ; Joshua 9 : 33. Many 
large olive trees are scattered over the grassy vale. In 
this narrow valley was the Hebrew multitude ; right above 



358 



MOUNT GrBRIZIM. 



them, on either side, were the Levites reading- blessings 
and curses in tones of ringing and reverberating empha- 
sis. A place precisely suited for such a ceremony, as 
Moses doubtless knew when he selected it. The vale pro- 
duces a strange echo. What a scene ! Above stood the 
Levites saying to all the men of Israel below, with a loud 
voice : " Cursed be he that setteth light by his father and 
his mother ; and all the people shall say Amen." A ter- 
rific Amen ! Every curse rolled and repeated its clap- 
ping echoes athwart the vale ! " Cursed shall thou be in 
the city, and cursed in the field. Cursed shall be thy 
basket and thy store," still followed by the tremendous 
Amen from the densely packed mass below. It was an 
assembly and a scene such as the world has never wit- 
nessed since or before. Deut. 27. 

When brave old Gideon had died, Abimelech his son 
slew all his brothers except Jotham, the youngest, who 
hid himself. Then he got him on this Mount Gerizim 
above the city, and told his grievances in the only 
parable we find in the Old Testament. The olive, fig, 
vine, and the bramble, still abound here. Ere the inhabit- 
ants of Shechem could get up to where he stood, Jotham 
"ran away." Judges 9. 

At the end of it we found Nablous, perhaps the ancient 
Shechem, a white city embowered among a profusion of 
trees ; with grass, rills, and larger streams dashing, rip- 
pling, and rolling through shaded channels. But why 
should Jacob dig a well so near this profusion of springs ? 
These may then have belonged to another tribe ; and to 
avoid strife he dug one, for he had brought large flocks 
from his father-in-law, which required much water. 

We rode through the main street of bazaars, about 
three or four feet wide, with narrow, raised side-walks. 



NABLOUS. 



359 



The town is more neatly arranged, and shows signs of 
greater thrift than Jerusalem. It stretches along the 
sloping base of Mount Gerizim, while opposite to it the 
bleak Mount Ebal rears its dreary head, reminding one 
still of the curses once pronounced upon it. We en- 
camped on an elevation north-west of the town, amid 
the shade of olive trees. A swarm of men, women, and 
children soon collected around our tents, with the usual 
amount of noise. The Sheikh of the Samaritans led us 
to the Samaritan synagogue. We found it toward the 
base of Gerizim, in the rear of the town. It is a small, 
plain edifice, whose only furniture consists of a few mats 
on the floor. We were requested to leave our shoes at 
the door — a custom invariably observed in the East, when 
entering a place of worship. They showed us their an- 
cient manuscript, containing the five books of Moses. It 
is w r ritten on a scroll, rolled up in a metallic frame. They 
say it was written by Abishua the grandson of Eliezer, 
the son of Aaron, and that it is 3460 years old. Their 
sect numbers 70 men, about 170 with women and children. 

The head or priest of this fragment of a nation says 
that their copy of the five books of Moses differs from 
that of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. Among 
other things, he says they contain a commandment that 
an altar should be erected on Gerizim, but that Ezra 
altered this when he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The 
Samaritans do not call themselves Jews since they derive 
their descent from Joseph the son of Jacob, instead of 
Juda. They maintain that the name "Samaritans" 
(Shomri) means "observers of the Divine Law," and 
say that party-hate has made the world believe that 
it is derived from Shomron, the seal of the Kings of 
Israel. 



360 



SAMARITAN CUSTOMS. 



These are the only remaining Samaritans in the world ; 
the little relic of a once great and numerous nation. 
They are as tenacious of their faith and rites as if they 
still retained their ancient power. While the Jews are 
dispersed among all nations, these two hundred Samari- 
tans retain their ancient organization near their original 
place of worship, the smallest and oldest sect in the 
world. The little group which followed us into the syna- 
gogue had noble physiognomies, and a peculiarly pleasant 
expression of countenance. ' They are very strict in their 
ceremonies and practices of religion. Like the Jews, 
they keep Saturday for the Sabbath, when they have 
public prayers in their synagogue at morning, noon, and 
evening. On Friday evening they pray in their houses. 
They allow no labor or traffic on this day, not even cook- 
ing or kindling a fire, but rest from every kind of em- 
ployment the whole day. They also meet and worship 
in the synagogue on new moons and festival days, when 
the Law is read in public. 

Up along the side of Mount Gerizim is a winding path 
which they have worn going to their altar on the top to 
offer sacrifice. As the Jews, pray with their faces to- 
ward Jerusalem, and the Moslems toward Mecca, the 
Samaritan always prays in the synagogue and house, 
with his face toward the altar on Gerizim. They observe 
the three Jewish feasts : the Feast of Passover, when they 
pitch their tents on the mountain all night, and sacrifice 
seven lambs at sunset ; the Feast of Pentecost, and the 
Feast of Tabernacles, during which they dwell in booths 
or tents made of branches and leaves of trees. They make 
three annual pilgrimages to this venerable shrine. As 
the procession starts from the synagogue, they begin 
reading the law going up the mountain side, and finish it 



PROWLING ARABS. 



361 



on the top. They cherish the bitterest hatred of the 
Jews, and charge them with departing from the Law in 
not keeping the Passover, and corrupting the sacred text. 
No one eats, drinks, or associates with a Jew, neither 
do they intermarry. The only dealings they have with 
each other is in trade. 

After we had returned to our tents, the Sheikh of the 
Samaritans told us that there was still a deep shaft at 
Jacob's well, which we had not found before. I mounted 
my horse, with an unloaded revolver to* make the neces- 
sary show of courage, and rode back to it. Tethering 
the beast to a loose stone, I descended into the vault in 
search of the well. The heaps of stone, however, con- 
cealed it. Just then I bethought me of the Arabs I had 
seen approaching the well before descending. These 
men of Shechem are notorious robbers, having, until late 
years, kept all travellers away from their valley. Br. 
Prime of New York relates a shocking assault they made 
on his party when here, almost killing one of them. I 
felt a deep interest in this well, but deeper still in my 
safety. Looking at the little hole through which I had 
crept down, I thought how easily they might roll a few 
stones there and cork me into this sacred prison. I was 
not prepared for such a siege. Alas ! it is always so ; 
when we stand most in need of our courage, it forsakes 
us. I left the well with the water and shaft unexplored, 
and rode away from my suspicious neighbors, taking good 
care to show the empty revolver. 

As evening approached the chattering crowd of females 
and children around our tents increased. Some of the 
former were dressed in gay attire without veils. They 
seemed much diverted with Mohammed's cooking. While 
we had to attend to our usual mending duties, some stole 
31 



362 



A MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIM. 



a peep through the curtain door, to the great amusement 
of others. The Governor of Nablous sent us an invitation 
to visit him and partake of his hospitalities. But as 
such entertainments generally are more pleasant in "the 
breach than the observance" -we respectfully declined; 
asking, however, for several soldiers to guard us while we 
slept. Three of these valiants shielded us from robbers, 
real and imaginary, and kept up a firing of guns through 
the night, to give proof of their valor. That evening 
and the following morning, fifteen lepers, shockingly dis- 
figured, stood and crouched along the wayside above our 
tents, and whined pitifully for a gift. There is no help 
but death for these unfortunate beings. 

April 22d. — When we started this morning, a small 
procession escorted a prominent citizen on horseback to 
the outside of the city. He was setting out on a pil- 
grimage to Mecca, which every faithful Mohammedan 
feels bound to visit once in his lifetime, if possible. A 
short distance beyond our encampment he dismounted 
and took solemn leave of his friends and neighbors, em- 
bracing and kissing each of them. His little ruddy 
bright-eyed boy caught him round the neck and wept 
bitterly. The Moslem seldom weeps, but he slyly wiped 
away the unbidden tear as he tore away from the em- 
braces of his child. Many a poor Moslem will spend the 
flower of his life to acquire means that he and his family 
may bow at the shrine of Mecca before they die. By 
taking his children with him when they are small, he 
saves them the trouble and expense of performing this 
devout duty in after life. Ahmed told me that one great 
motive he had to acquire a fortune was that he and his 
family might make a pilgrimage to Mecca before they die. 
"We took a number of mounted guards along to protect us 



S E B A S T E . 



363 



against the Bedouins, who have a bad name here. Cross- 
ing a considerable brook flowing north of Nablous, we 
rode through shady groves of olives, pomegranates, and 
figs. The singing birds, murmuring brooks, and the 
fresh odor of grass, wet with the crystal drops of the 
morning, contrasted pleasantly with the two desolate 
mountains which rose from 800 to 1000 feet above 
us, and combined to form one of the most charming gar- 
den spots I found anywhere in Palestine. We emerged 
from these groves into a fruitful district, in a tolerable 
state of cultivation. Some Arabs were preparing the 
ground for summer seed, ploughing up, as well as their 
skimming ploughs could, the roads or paths running 
through their fields. 

After riding an hour and three-quarters over rough 
hills, with here and there a green glen near a village, we 
at length reach Sebaste, the ancient city of Samaria, 
about six miles from Nablous or Shechem. From a large 
plain, green and fresh-colored, like a vast basin of vege- 
tation scooped out of the surrounding mountains, rises an 
oval isolated hill, about 600 feet high. Its sides, some- 
what steep, were covered with full-grown wheat, up to its 
long flat top. It rose out of the vale so perfectly sym- 
metrical and snug, as if the hand of man had sodded and 
levelled its sloping sides. This is the "hill Samaria 
which Omri bought of Shemer for two talents of silver, 
and built on the hill, and called the name of the city 
which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the 
hill, Samaria." 1 Kings 16 : 24. 

Midway of the ascent, a level terrace or belt stretches 
around the hill, on which we found a small Arab village, 
and the ruins of a church dedicated to John the Baptist, 
over his traditional grave. The building is 153 feet long, 



364 



A PINE LANDSCAPE. 



and 75 feet broad. Ascending along the steep path, we 
dismounted on a broad terrace near the summit, and 
climbed up the bank on the topmost platform, perhaps 
five acres in size. The bad reputation of the villagers 
made it necessary to display our carnal weapons as much 
as possible. In this country necessity is laid on a man 
at least to appear warlike, whether he feel like it or not. 
Sometimes I rode with two five-barrelled revolvers in a 
broad red girdle, neither of them loaded, but just as ser- 
viceable for all that. 

The hill was cultivated to the top, and had thriving fig 
and olive trees on its belt and around the base. Along 
the northern edge a brisk little stream flowed out into the 
plain, and a large one to the south of it. The view from 
the top extends over the whole basin, about six or eight 
miles wide. Among the waving lakes of wheat heads, 
many Arabs were seen ploughing, sowing, and weeding 
their grain. Many villages dotted the plain and moun- 
tains which border it, all green with rich pasturage. The 
fields, flocks, workmen, mountains, and villages, all 
spread out to view like a charming variegated panorama. 

On this hill was the ancient city of Samaria, strongly 
fortified, so that the king of Assyria had to besiege it 
three years before he could take it. 2 Kings 18. The 
lofty mountains which girt the plain helped to defend the 
city on the hill rising out of its centre. And the strong 
lofty battlements around the base of it must have pre- 
sented formidable barriers to their foes. Their only plan 
was to cut off all communication with the fruitful plain 
around it, and starve them out. Thus Ben-hadad, King 
of Syria, " besieged it until an ass's head was sold for 
fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab 
of dove's dung for five pieces of silver." While they 



FORM EE STRENGTH OF SAMARIA. 365 

looked out on their rich fields, the famine pressed them so 
sorely that women ate their children to allay their suffer- 
ing. 2 Kings 6 : 29. In whatever direction the famishing 
Samaritans looked, they must have seen their enemies 
spread over the plain and mountains — thirty- two kings, 
with chariots and horses, and a multitude almost innu- 
merable. Not a man could pass through the vast encamp- 
ment, either from mountain or valley, to bring food to the 
beleaguered city. As the mountains around the plain are 
higher than the hill of Samaria, the Syrians on their tops 
must have been able to watch the misery of the famishing 
inhabitants in the city. The sudden plenty which ensued 
at the termination of the siege is easily accounted for by 
the fruitful plain immediately around the city, and the 
provisions which the Syrians left back in their flight. 

The strongly fortified hill city gave the Syrians so 
much trouble and labor, that they said of the Samaritans : 
"Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were 
stronger than we ; but let us fight against them in the 
plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they." 
1 Kings 20 : 23. In point of strength, beauty, and fer- 
tility, Samaria was unsurpassed by any city in Palestine. 
Instead of the rough, precipitous mountains and ravines 
around Jerusalem, where Juda and Benjamin had to earn 
their bread with immense labor, making walls around 
their rock-hills to keep the earth and grain from washing 
down, Samaria had her large, rich plain, alive with a 
spontaneous vegetation, and rewarding the trifling labor 
of the farmer with abundant crops. The winter torrents 
washed no soil from their plain, and they needed no 
extra labor to wall up their fields and keep them from 
sliding down the mountains. But this easy life proved a 
curse to the Samaritans. It engendered indolence and 
31* 



366 



TEMPLE OF BAAL. 



luxury, until their table became their snare. They had a 
constant hankering after idols. It was a stronghold of 
the old Canaanite idolatries. They had two gods — 
Baal, a male, represented by the sun ; and Ashtaroth, a 
female, represented by the moon. Here the great temple 
of Baal was erected, most probably on the summit, which 
Jehu destroyed, who himself was finally buried here. It 
had become the centre of idolatrous worship, luring many 
to trust in it, and to look toward this hill rather than 
Zion. " Wo to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust 
in the mountain of Samaria." Amos 6:1. 

Descending the hill we came to a colonnade, supposed 
to belong to the time of Herod the Great. Some sixty 
limestone columns stand planted erect in the earth, and 
many others are promiscuously lying on the ground. 
What edifice they composed, and for what purpose, are 
things unknown. Their present use is silently to preach 
of the departed glory of Samaria. Grass and grain wave 
over its proud palaces, and the dust of her idolatrous in- 
habitants enriches the soil of her terraced hill. Frag- 
ments of her palaces are occasionally scraped up by the 
plowman, and loose stones and ruins of her walls and 
dwellings are scattered around the base of the hill. 
Just as Micah has it, to the very letter : " Therefore I 
will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plant- 
ings of a vineyard : and I will pour down the stones 
thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations 
thereof." Micah 1 : 6. 

Samaria was the capital of the " Ten Tribes" until 
they were carried captive into Assyria. Most probably 
many of the columns and other remains of Herod's pal- 
aces strewn over the hill, were taken from ruins then ex- 
isting ; possibly some have even belonged to the regal 



N A AM AN AND GEHAZI. 



367 



dwellings of Ahab and his wicked Queen Jezebel. The 
city has been waning for 2500 years, alternating between 
luxury and famine, the scene and centre of idolatry and 
bloodshed, now razed to the earth and then rebuilt, until 
it has subsided into the miserable robber hamlet on the 
slope of its hill,- ever on the alert for a booty. 

Hither came JSTaaman, the Syrian, from Damascus, to 
be healed of his leprosy. Our Saviour says : " There 
were many lepers in Israel [Samaria] in the time of 
Elisha the Prophet, and none of them were cleansed 
saving Naaman the Syrian."' Luke 4 : 27. Such are 
still there. The cupidity of Gehazi was punished with 
this dreadful disease, which was to cleave unto his seed 
forever. These loathsome lepers are monuments of his 
sin, and some perhaps even the heirs of his penal disease. 

After leaving Samaria we passed some men with don- 
keys, having one or both ears cut off, for which our 
guides accounted in this wise : When an ass trespasses in 
a neighboring field, the owner of the field is allowed to 
cut off his ear. Should he repeat the offence, his other 
ear must go for it. Some of these poor donkeys had 
sinned twice, which cost them both ears. In this respect 
these modern Canaanites are in advance of the Mosaic 
law on this point. " If thou meet thine enemy's ox or 
ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him 
again." Ex. 23 : -I. 

Our path led us over hill and dell ; now the horses' 
hoofs would clatter over bald rocks and earthless knobs, 
then trip over plains spread with wheat and barley. And 
while these were fast ripening, Arabs were ploughing 
and sowing for a later crop. Crossing one of these 
fertile valleys, one of our Turkish guards challenged for 
a race, and with that gave reins to his steed. A few 



368 



AN EXCITING RACE. 



followed, mine among the rest. After lie had distanced 
the rest, I concluded it was time to stop, but he thought 
differently. Away he dashed over the plain, which 
seemed to spurn the touch of his hoof, bearing off his 
unwilling rider like a second John Gilpin, his coarse 
carpet bag and burnouse flapping in the breeze like the 
wings of an ostrich. With distended nostrils pointed 
skyward, he defiantly snuffed the air like a miniature 
locomotive, his long mane waving wildly in the breeze. 
On still he bounded like an antelope, whither he listed. 
When I succeeded in stopping his wild career and reined 
him up, he champed the bit, pawed the earth, and grace- 
fully curved his arched neck as if consciously proud of 
his beauty. He was a noble specimen of an Arab horse, 
a polished dappled grey, with every joint and limb in- 
stinct with ease and life. These Arab horses are a hardy 
race, nimble-footed as a roe ; and when their mettle is 
aroused in war, they seem to catch the defiant rage of 
their rider. Often when looking at their pranks, I had 
to think of Job's description of the Arab horse : 

"Hast thou given the horse strength? 
Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? 
Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? 
The glory of his nostrils is terrible. 
He pawetli in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; 
He goeth on to meet the armed men. 
He mocketh at fear and is not affrighted ; 
Neither turneth he "back from the sword. 
The quiver rattleth against him, 
The glittering spear and the shield. 
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage ; 
Neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 
He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha ; 
And he smelleth the battle afar off, 
The thunder of the captains and the shouting/' 

Job 39 : 19-25. 



THE ARABIAN HORSE. 



369 



The Arab and his horse live on terms of the closest 
intimacy : if anything, the horse seems the more refined 
of the two, and receives the greater honor. He is never 
degraded by the touch of collar or traces. He is solely 
trained for the saddle. His limbs are unimpaired by 
heavy draughts. In some parts of Palestine and the 
Desert, an ordinary horse sinks over the fetlock 
into the sand and ashy earth at every step ; but the 
Arabian horse trips nimbly over the soft surface, as if 
the earth shrank from his touch. He is fit for service 
until he is thirty-five years of age. Nowhere can you 
find more skilful horse tamers than the Arabs. The 
horse and his rider have nearly the same social habits. 
For the first few months, women have the care of the 
foal. At a year and a half, the little Arabs mount him. 
The weight of the rider must always correspond to the 
strength of the horse. At two years and a half, a grown 
man mounts him. For a long time he never goes beyond 
a walk. His bit is exceedingly light. His rider has no 
spurs ; a mere twig which he tries never to use. He is 
never at rest. He must often fetch feed and drink for 
him at a great distance. He lives on spare diet like his 
master, which disencumbers his limbs and body of super- 
fluous flesh. Often, horse and rider grow up together. 
At eighteen months old, the little boy rides the foal to 
grass and water with a soft mule bridle. From this on, 
they live and mingle together in the most intimate com- 
panionship. Their age and habits are well suited. The 
horse grows gentle, and the child learns how to ride him. 
This accounts for the Arab's great skill in horsemanship. 
With or without a saddle, he wheels and whirls around 
in sudden turns and countless evolutions, his long spear 
poised in the air, and his loose apparel streaming in the 



3T0 



the Arab's friend. 



wind, with an easy fixedness and grace as if lie and the 
horse were really but parts of the same body. He dis- 
mounts and perhaps leaves him untethered without any 
abuse of the confidence reposed in him. They lavish 
mutual caresses and familiar fondlings on each other, 
taking all sorts of liberties with one another. While the 
Arab adorns his bridle and pats and softly rubs his 
limbs, the horse playfully picks at his coarse garments 
and snuffles about his beard. He talks to him as he 
does to his wife or child, and the animal listens and 
obeys with almost human intelligence. Fond as the 
Arab is of money, it can poorly compensate for the pain 
occasioned by parting from his affectionate friend. And 
should a large sum lure him into a sale, or death take 
his horse from him, neither the loss of wife or child fills 
him with keener sorrow. Should there be poetry in his 
soul, he will sing the virtues of his departed steed, and 
vent his grief in pathetic wailings over the fate that has 
bereft him of the society of such a companion. 

In the middle of the afternoon we entered Galilee. 
Riding over this wonderful country, a hundred little 
objects furnish daily subjects of thought and instruction. 
And the scenery evermore varies. Now our cavalcade 
wearily winds up a steep, rocky hillside. We listen to 
the muleteers gibbering in Turkish, their faithful mules 
and horses threading up along the narrow path in single 
file, with little bells hung around their necks, meanwhile 
sweetly jingling at every heavy and laborious tread. 
All of a sudden we get on to a grassy glen, with fields, 
flocks, fountains, and clumps of olive or oak trees. Oc- 
casionally we pass a well or village, where there are 
always sprightly groups to greet us with a u Salaam." 
To-day, large storks flew fitfully over these, glens, and 



JENIN. 



3T1 



stalked in long columns along the water's edge, in quest 
of food. We rode through a narrow valley, in between 
two ranges of hills, for a number of miles, and finally 
reached Jenin, at the end of the plain of Jezreel, in five 
hours after we had left Samaria. A swarm of pilgrims, 
on their return from Jerusalem, at least 600 or 700 in 
number, had already encamped along the edge of the 
village. In the flush of our enjoyments, we rode away 
from our muleteers and baggage. Feeling alarmed for 
their safety, we finally sent our soldiers or Turkish 
escort after them, with whom they safely arrived two 
hours after we had reached Jenin. 

Jenin is the En-gannim which Joshua gave to Issachar. 
"And out of the tribe of Issachar, . . . Engannim, with 
her suburbs." Joshua 19 : 21 ; 21 : 29. It has always 
owed much of its prosperity to a flourishing fountain in 
the centre of its narrow valley, which, during summer 
and autumn is entirely absorbed by its fields and thriving 
orchards. This fountain is the most distant source of 
the Kishon. It is now the chief town between Nazareth 
and Nablous (Shechem), and contains about two thousand 
inhabitants, nearly all Mohammedans. They are famous 
chiefly for their quarrelsome, warlike, and plundering 
propensities. We erected our tents near a purling brook, 
running between us and the village. It is a miserable, 
filthy-looking collection of mud huts, intersected by nar- 
now streets. A few palm-trees gracefully waved their 
plume-like tops in the soft evening breeze. The flat 
house-tops were green with grass ; and out of this medley 
of dirt and pure grass rose the tall minaret of the village- 
mosque, from which the muezzin [herald] saluted us, 
soon after our arrival, with the usual cry : "To prayers, 



372 



A CAMP-SCENE. 



to prayers ; there is no God but God, and Mohammed is 
his Prophet." 

"We consented to employ guards from the Governor of 
Jenin to protect us during the night ; the hire which 
they received being a kind of bribe that the town autho- 
rities should not rob us. For the worst robbers are often 
these soldiers themselves. It was a very dark night, and 
the large pilgrim encampment all around us composed a 
singular scene. Lights flickered in all directions, and 
luminous smoke curled up from camp-fires, reflecting a 
red glare on the tents, and half revealing the chatting, 
eating, sleeping pilgrims. Some were cooking ; others, 
rolled up in their blankets on the damp earth, heaved 
deep breaths, and uttered half-audible dreams. Here 
and there a circle of smokers sat around their watch- 
fires, talking with a suppressed tone of voice. Some 
of the younger sort and their guards scouted along the 
edge of the encampment, cracking off" guns and pistols, 
to apprise the prowling robbers what stuff they were 
made of. The mules, horses, and donkeys tinkled their 
little bells, as they were eating their meals in bags tied 
around their mouths. After musing on this novel night- 
scene, we retired to our tent ; and, with knaves for our 
protectors, rested sweetly, under the " shadow of the 
Almighty." 



STOLEN HORSES. 



373 



CHAPTER XVI. 



April 23c?. — Yesterday afternoon we crossed the 
boundary of Galilee. This morning there was quite a 
commotion among the pilgrims, who discovered that three 
of their horses had been stolen last night. The Governor 
of Jenin sent us word that we could not be allowed to go 
any further, without the protection of an armed escort ; 
and with that came eight guards, mounted on prancing 
chargers, with an air of martial courage which seemed 
ready to give life and limb, if need be, for our safety. 
Of course, we knew that the worthy Governor only 
wanted hire for his men; and, lest they might rob us 
themselves, we took them. 

It was a charming, dewy morning ; the air breathed 
refreshing odors, and was vocal with the warblings of all 
manner of birds. The sun had scarcely risen, when the 
peasants of Jenin wended their way along various paths, 
to get them to their labor in the fields. Numerous sky- 
larks, of a dark-grey color and of the size of a small 
robin, sang merrily, as they flapped upward, — singing 
sweeter still, as they pierced the heavens ; and, when no 
more seen, still piped their clear, upward melody. Mrs. 
Hemans describes their ascent to the life : 
32 



3T4 



god's care fob birds. 



The sky-lark, when the dews of morn 
Hang tremulous on flower and thorn, 
And violets round his nest exhale 
Their fragrance on the early gale, 
To the first sunbeams spreads his wings 
Buoyant with joy, and soars, and sings. 

" He rests not on the leafy spray, 
To warble his exulting lay, 
But high above the morning cloud, 
Mounts in triumphant freedom proud, 
And swells, when nearest to the sky, 
His notes of sweetest ecstacy. 

"Thus, my Creator! thus the more 
My spirit's wing to Thee can soar, 
The more she triumphs to behold 
Thy love in all Thy works unfold, 
And bids her hymns of rapture be 
Most glad, when rising most to Thee." 

Often the Saviour looked at these birds in his own Gali- 
lee, and drew lessons, sad and cheering, from their habits. 
In His voluntary human poverty He felt how much bet- 
ter they were off than He in his life of suffering. " The 
birds of the air have nests ; but the son of man hath not 
where to lay his head." Matt. 8 : 20. He saw how the 
fretting fears and discontents of the children of men 
betrayed a want of confidence in their Providential Father. 
Then He points to these irrational objects of His tender 
care. " Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, 
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your 
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better 
than they ? " Matt. 6 : 26. 

For a while after we left Jenin, the fertile plain looked 
like one continuous wheat-field, for this is the famous Val- 
ley of Jezreel. To the right the mountains of Gilboa 



DEATH OF JO RAM. 



375 



rose hio-h above the valley. On an elevation, several 
miles from our path, we passed the city of Jezreel, vrith its 
ancient fountain, now containing wenty or thirty houses, 
mostly in -ruins, but few of them being inhabited. A few 
sarcophagi mark the graves of ancient Jezreelites. As 
water was necessary for "a garden of herbs," and this 
being the only perennial fountain in the neighborhood, 
perhaps the vineyard which Ahab violently took from 
Naboth, was near it, for it was " hard by the palace of 
Ahab, King of Samaria." 1 Kings 21 : 1. 

On the elevated site of Jezreel is an ancient square 
tower, half in ruins, of considerable height, which com- 
mands a view of the whole plain and surrounding coun- 
try. On this, or one like it, near the spot, "stood a 
watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the com- 
pany of Jehu as he came. . . . The watchman said, 
The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nitn- 
shi; for he driveth furiously." The mounted messen- 
gers sent out to meet him could be seen by the guard at 
least five or six miles off. Then Joram. King of Israel, 
and Ahajiah, King of Judah, went out each in his chariot 
and met the dashing Jehu in the portion of Naboth the 
Jezreelite. Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and 
smote Joram, and told his captain to cast him in the 
portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. 2 Kings 9. 

When Jehu had reached Jezreel, he bade two or three 
eunuchs to throw the wicked Jezebel down from a window, 
where the dogs devoured her corpse (2 Kings 9), a thing 
not unusual for dogs in the East. They have more of 
the habits of the hyena than of the faithful, kind animal 
of their species in other countries. In some parts of the 
Orient, heaps of stone are put on the graves to prevent 
them from digging up the dead. They are a mean, 



376 



EASTERN DOGS. 



sneaking, scabby, dirty animal, with hair standing on end, 
and wolfish heads, kicked and cudgelled by everybody 
that comes within reach of them. Next to the Arabs 
and Turks, they are the greatest robbers in the East. 
They prowl and steal around the traveller's tent, and the 
moment he turns his back they thrust their dirty snouts 
into his cooking pans, and even into the bowls on his 
table. Few things but dogs could raise the ire of Mo- 
hammed, our patient, forbearing cook. The approach of 
these walking, scenting skeletons, would raise his Theban 
blood, and provoke a storm of Arabic invective, and stones. 

The treatment which they receive makes them shy ; 
and, as they are shunned and cursed by all, they must 
either steal or starve. 

The dog has ever been regarded as an unclean animal 
in the East. " Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore 
or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God 
for any vow : for ever both these are an abomination unto 
the Lord thy God." It was a synonym for contemptible 
meanness. "Am I a dog?" said Goliath to David when 
the little shepherd boy approached him with stone and 
sling. "But what! is thy servant a dog, that he should 
do this great thing?" Hazael said to Elijah when he 
predicted his future cruelties to Israel. When Shimei 
cursed David in his flight from Absalom, Abishai said: 
"Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?" 
And no epithet is oftener on the scowling Moslem's lips 
when he curses the hated Christian, than "infidel dog." 

As we advanced, little Mount Hermon, an oblong 
mountain, rose out of the plain, and beyond this the 
lovely Tabor. We had agreed in the morning to go by 
Shunem, but our cowardly escort, fearing the Arabs, took 
us another way. From early childhood I had delighted 



THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN. 877 

in the sweet story of the prophet and the Shunammite 
woman, and had my own childish dreams of the place 
even after I ceased to be a child. Few passages in the 
Old Testament possess such a natural simplicity and 
touching interest. "And it fell on a day, that Elisha 
passed to Shunem, where was a great woman ; and she 
constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft 
as he passed by he turned in thither to eat bread. And 
she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that 
this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us con- 
tinually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on 
the wall ; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, 
and a stool, and a candlestick : and it shall be when he 
cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither." 2 Kings 
4 : 8-10. Just such a room and furniture as would suit 
a student or minister of the nineteenth century. 

I insisted on going to Shunem. Our soldiers, with 
characteristic coolness, deserted us and returned to 
Jericho. Ahmed provoked the fear of the party with dis- 
mal tales of Shunammite villany. I vainly begged him to 
give me only a few attendants ; for with me it was clearly 
now or never, so far as seeing this shrine of holy hospi- 
tality was concerned. I rode up to Ahmed and demanded 
a revolver. Finally, to escape my importunity, he handed 
me an unloaded one, never dreaming that I would be so 
rash as to venture thither alone with such a weapon. But 
Shunem I wished to see, and to Shunem I would go. 
Giving spurs to my gallant grey, I galloped off alone, 
across the pathless undulating vale. The soil was like a 
soft heap of ashes, into which he sank deep at every tread. 
I crossed a ravine covered with thistles as dense and high 
as hemp. Arrived on a hill, I reconnoitred by means of 
a spy-glass, and discovered Shunem nestled along the foot 
32* 



378 



SHUNEM. 



of little Mount Hermon. Spying an Arab apparently 
hunting something, I thought it best to look the warrior 
as fiercely as possible. So I rode on, bridle in one hand 
and pistol in the other, finger on the trigger, as if ready 
to crack away at the first sign of an attack. On an 
elevation about two or three minutes from the edge of the 
village, I reined up the horse to take a view of it. Igno- 
rant of the language, and alone, I deemed it prudent not 
to ride through the town, where they could easily have 
captured me by cutting off my retreat to the main road. 
I had a clear and satisfactory view by means of a glass. 
Shumen is on the steep western slope of little Mount Her- 
mon, a small dirty village, skirted with trees which looked 
like pomegranates and large cactus, (or prickly pears,) 
about the size of an ordinary peach tree. It has a small 
fountain, hardly sufficient for the wants of its inhabitants. 
Their low huts seemed no more than six or eight feet 
high. In the centre were a few larger buildings, among 
which was most likely the village mosque. I saw but few 
people in the narrow streets, but a number were plough- 
ing in the neighboring fields. 

From here David, in his old age, got "a fair damsel, 
Abishag a Shunammite," for a wife. Elisha forfeited the 
peace of a fixed settled home when he left his oxen to 
become a prophet, still a common fate among the prophets 
of the Christian ministry. 1 Kings 19 : 19-21. He roves 
about to the Jordan, Gilgal, Samaria, Dotham, Jezreel, 
Shunem, Carmel, and Damascus. How sweet to find one 
spot in a quiet village along a mountain-side, overlooking 
a fertile, populous plain, where pious hospitality always 
had a furnished room and a spread table ready for him ! 
Often he tarried in the chamber on the wall at Shunem, sat 
on the stool by the table on which was the candlestick of 



BLISHA RAISES THE DEAD CHILD. 379 



his friend, and slept in the bed her provident kindness, 
characteristic of her sex, had furnished. She was asked 
what she desired in return. A favor from " the King or 
captain of the host? " She said: " I dwell among mine own 
people." That is to say, I am highly favored, contented, 
and happy. God blessed her with, a son. When the 
child had coiled around her heart, death suddenly tore 
him from her. Her first thought for relief is toward the 
" holy man of God." He is over there on Carmel, per- 
haps eight or ten miles off. Near the sea, at the western 
end of the plain, she can see the place from Shunem. 
" She saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive and 
go forward ; slack not thy riding for me except I bid 
thee!" From the mountain he sees her coming "afar 
off" down in the plain. Gehazi is quickly sent to see 
what is the matter. Elisha alone durst hear her doleful 
tidings. He foreknew the future. Knew that her child 
should die. Why then pray God to give her a son, only 
to tear and crush her heart in his early death ? u Did I 
desire a son of my lord? Did ! not say, Do not deceive 
me?" He gives her back the living child ; " she fell at 
his feet, and bowed herself to the ground [in gratitude,] 
and took up her son, and went out." 2 Kings 4. 

Having had a satisfactory view of Shunem, and made 
a sketch of its outlines, I turned the horse in the direc- 
tion of my companions, of whom I had entirely lost sight- 
When across the ridge of a hill, beyond the sight of the 
watchful Shunammites, I gave him loose reins and steered 
off in a north-western course. The Arab peasants in the 
field stopped at their work and watched my goings. Pre- 
sently I espied two turbaned heads peering up behind a 
ridge right in front of me, in whom I soon discovered 
two mounted Arabs. We were directly approaching each 



380 



ADVENTURE WITH ARABS. 



other on the same path, so that I was bound to face the 
music. Assuming the air of daring, undaunted fortitude, 
aided by the fierce physique of a luxuriant beard and a 
bronzed complexion, tanned by a hot Eastern sun, we 
approached, each eyeing the other with evident suspicion. 
Just as we met I raised the right hand to my breast and 
forehead, in salutation, — " Salaam, aleikran," (peace be 
with you.) They muttered a reluctant reply, showing 
clearly that they cared not for peace just then. (The 
Arab never salutes an enemy.) When they were a few 
paces past me one shouted in a gruff tone of voice : 
" Osber ! " (stop !) But nothing daunted, — for I did not 
know just then what the word meant, which, by the way, 
detracts considerably from my share of glory in the 
adventure, — I left the horse walk on, with an air of appa- 
rent unconcern, meanwhile holding on to the trigger, and 
watching with side glances whether they were pursuing. 
In that event, as I had neither the desire nor ability to 
fire, the whole affair would have become a question of 
speed. I had great confidence in the fleetness of my 
horse, and unless cut off from our party, felt pretty con- 
fident that I could outride them in the event of a chase. 
But they feared the little iron in my hand. I was told, 
(I cannot vouch, for its truth,) that so few of the Arabs 
ever seeing revolvers, they circulate frightful stories about 
their destructive properties, and that some really believe 
if you once pull the trigger it will crack away as long as 
a foe is within sight or reach. A slight rise in the plain 
soon hid me from their view, and I left my Arab streak 
away to his heart's content. 

After riding several miles, I reached an eminence from 
which I discovered our cavalcade in the distance, halting 
for a consultation. They had seen the two mounted 



UNEASY DRAGOMEN. 



381 



Arabs going in the direction of Shunem, and thought that 
most probably I had fallen into their hands, or those of 
some others. Ahmed was in the greatest distress, both 
on my account and his own. For these Egyptian drago- 
men are licensed by the Pasha. They must bring a cer- 
tificate of perfect satisfaction from every traveller they 
serve. If they fail in this, or complaints are otherwise 
made, they are at once deprived of their license. He 

begged Mr. M to give him a certificate, in the event 

of my injury or death, exonerating him from all blame 
in the matter. While they were thus consulting what 
course to pursue, I hove in sight, to their exceeding 
delight. Ahmed undertook to read me a lecture for 
rashly imperilling my life and his reputation as a drago- 
man. I told him that we Christians thought as much of 
our prophet and Koran as they did of theirs ; that we 
came 5000 miles to see the holy places of our religion, 
and to worship our Maker around their shrines. And 
now, after we had employed him at a munificent price to 
conduct us to these places, he seemed to think we cared 
no more about them than a follower of Mohammed, and 
hoped to hurry us on without even a passing, glimpse, 
under the pretext of danger. If he and his escort were 
unwilling to furnish us the service for which they had 
been employed, we must serve ourselves, and they be 
responsible for danger and death. This little reply gave 
him a clearer idea of duty, and quieted his croaking. 

There is no doubt that this is an unsafe region. Rev. 
Mr. Arthur, an eminent Wesley an minister of London, 
passed over this plain several weeks later, with his lady. 
He told me afterwards at Beirut, that he was attacked 
by a set of Arabs between Jenin and the little Hermon, 
who demanded money with presented guns. What his 



382 



ARAB TACTICS. 



armed muleteers could not accomplish, fifteen dollars had 
the power to effect. These Arabs fear nothing so much 
as pluck. They fight, fire, and rave in their own style, 
but the boldest robber fears to take liberties with intrepid 
prowess, even should it be merely assumed for a special 
object. Possibly these men had never before seen, a 
Frank ride around Shunem without an armed escort. 
They may have thought that one who undertakes this 
must either be a demoniac or a bold warrior. The former 
they revere, the latter they fear. While I may be 
charged with rashness for entering upon such an adven- 
ture without any available arms, I felt that under Provi- 
dence, there was as much if not more virtue in an empty 
revolver, than one with powder and bullet. But to have 
done it without going through the harmless motions of 
martial courage, would have been wrong, as that might 
have tempted these freebooters to commit actual robbery, 
if not murder. 

The contrast between this plain and some of the more 
southern districts of Palestine is very striking. The 
rough conical hills and undistinguishable undulations of 
Judea, from Hebron to Samaria, are a bleak barren 
region in comparison with the valley of Jezreel or Es- 
drselon. It consists of an uneven plain, now level, then 
uneven and undulating, extending from the Mediterra- 
nean on the west to the Jordan on the east, and from the 
mountains of southern to those of northern Palestine, 
forming the 'roots of Lebanon. From north to south it 
is about twelve, and from east to west, about twenty miles 
in size. The southern part is pretty well cultivated ; the 
rest only here and there. Many parts are teeming with 
spontaneous vegetation, with hay-harvests unsown and un- 
reaped, and an indescribable profusion of wild flowers, 



VALLEY OF MEGIDDO. 



383 



blending their rich colors like a variegated carpet in tints 
of charming beauty. The villages are built on mound- 
like elevations, like those along the Nile. The fellahs or 
Arab farmers never put any manure on the soil. The 
women make large cakes of this, then dry it in the sun, 
and use it for fuel in place of wood. And yet in spite 
of their skimming ploughs, and the absence of manure, 
they raise luxuriant crops of wheat, barley, cotton, and 
millet for many years in succession. This plain has been 
enriched with floods of human gore. Its central position 
between the highlands and lowlands, the north and south 
of Palestine, has made it the arena of bloody wars, one 
of the most sanguinary battle-fields in the world. To 
an Israelite this "valley of Megidclo," as it is sometimes 
called, is associated with some mournful recollections. 
Two kings, Saul and Josiah, were slain on its soil ; and 
the two most touching and melancholy dirges in Hebrew 
poetry were evoked by the defeats of Gilboa and Me- 
giddo. 1 Sam 31 ; 2 Chron 35. It was not until the later 
struggles of Hebrew history that Jezreel became the 
theatre of their wars. Joshua fought all his battles save 
one in the more southern part of Palestine. But in their 
later history, the Canaanites made repeated efforts to 
regain their lost possessions, and selected Esdraelon as 
their battle-field, generally against the wishes of the 
Jews. The Jewish cavalry being very inferior, they 
always preferred mountains and mountain passes for 
their battles. Their enemies often possessing many 
horses and chariots, studiously avoided these, and in- 
vaded the plains to get the advantage of a more suitable 
. ground. 



384 



BIBLE REMINISCENCES. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Jfrifftntli unit 3$nttnt &uml. 



That day in the Valley of Jezreel will long be re- 
membered. Mount Carmel, Tabor, Gilboa, Gilead, and 
the hills of Bashan, Shunem, and Jezreel, all seen in a 
morning's ride, and most of them from the same point 
of view, was a rare entertainment for a lover and student 
of the Bible. Ever and anon as we rode on, I opened 
the sacred volume and read its descriptions of the events 
connected with it. We selected a green spot for our 
table at noon, teeming with a variety of wild flowers, 
which filled the air with pleasant odors. Hitherto the 
little Hermon had partly concealed Tabor, which is only 
a few miles north of it. But as we passed the former, 
it rose out of the plain with striking and imposing gran- 
deur, carpeted with trees and grass to the summit. 

Leaving Tabor to the right, we entered a rocky ravine, 
and then crossed a rough, tedious mountain, and soon 
came into the basin of Nazareth. Biding along the 
slope of a hill, the rounding of a bluff suddenly revealed 
the home of Joseph and Mary right before us, perched 
on the side of this mountain kettle. Dismounting before 
the Latin Convent, the attentive monks gave us a hospi- 
table reception. We were led through a large open 
court in the interior, and from here up a narrow stone 



CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 385 



stairway into an arched room. This will be our abode 
for a few days. A long day's journey through the hot 
sun had wearied us no little. Sleep soon refreshed 
"tired nature," from which a monk gently woke us to 
accept of a glass of lemonade. Our lodgings in the 
convent were cheerfully genial and home-like, free from 
the stern austerity of asceticism. 

Soon the ringing cry of the herald rolled over Naza- 
reth from a neighboring minaret, calling her 1000 Mo- 
hammedans to prayer. Between 2000 and 3000 Chris- 
tians make up the remaining population. These, again, 
are composed of Greek, Latin, or Roman Catholic, and 
Maronite Christians. Opposite to the convent is the 
Church of the Annunciation, so called because it is built 
over the traditional grotto or cave in which the Virgin 
Mary once lived, and where she received the salutation 
of the angel, and the promise that she should become the 
mother of our Lord. The grand altar is placed imme- 
diately over it, on a raised platform. A flight of stairs 
led "us into the cave below the altar. Here a tablet 
marks the spot where the Virgin is said to have stood when 
she received the angelic message, with the inscription : 
Verbum caro hic factum est {Here the Word teas 
made flesh). Near this were three ancient columns, put 
there by St. Helena. One of them had the rniddlo 
broken out, while the two ends remained. The walls of 
the chamber were hung with striped silk. In the rear 
of this cave are others of smaller size, which are reputed 
parts of her dwelling. On Sunday we were present at 
the regular service in this church. A sweet-toned organ 
and a choir of boys, with clear, ringing voices, led the 
melodious praise. The large number present looked 
devout and earnest in their worship. 



386 



HOUSE OF JOSEPH AND MARY. 



The Cave of the Annunciation is now a chapel or 
place of worship. A Romish legend says the small 
house built over it in the days of the Virgin was removed 
in this wise : — In the thirteenth century the Saracens 
threatened to destroy the Holy Places of Palestine ; in 
1291, angels carried this house away through the air, 
and finally brought it to Loretto in Italy, where thousands 
still revere it as the "Casa Santa" (the holy house) — 
the identical dwelling of the Virgin. It has become a 
great shrine for European pilgrims, around which thou- 
sands annually bow in acts of worship. 

We were taken to the so-called house of Joseph and 
his carpenter shop, and also to a large rock in a dwell- 
ing, on which He and His disciples are said frequently 
to have broken bread. The rock is about twelve feet in 
diameter, and its flat top about three feet above the 
ground. All the sacred localities of Nazareth are more 
or less involved in doubt. Here, as elsewhere, I found 
it best to dwell on the general features — those character- 
istics which time seldom changes. 

Nazareth is never mentioned in the Old Testament. 
Josephus speaks of nearly all the villages around here, 
but never mentions this. It seems to have been a small, 
insignificant place, without a history and political im- 
portance. Galilee abounds with mountain-basins, in 
which villages and larger towns were often found. In 
such a basin is Nazareth. Fifteen hills swell above and 
around it on the edge of this kettle or mountain-shell. An 
ancient writer says: " Nazareth is a rose; and, like a 
rose, has the same rounded form, enclosed by mountains, 
as the flower by its leaves," This hollow is about a mile 
long, and half a mile wide. It belonged to the tribe of 
Zebulon, and is about six miles from Mount Tabor, and 



SITUATION OF NAZAKETH. 



387 



perhaps twenty-five miles from the southern end of the 
sea of Galilee. Along the western slope of this hollow, 
on an uneven rise of the hill, was nestled the obscure 
village of Nazareth, where it remains to this day. Small 
and unknown, it is yet the nursery and school of the 
world's Redeemer ! The first visitor to the place, of 
whom we have any account, was an angel : " And in the 
sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a 
city of Galilee, named Nazareth." Luke 1 : 26. 

Joseph and Mary lived here, betrothed, but not actu- 
ally married. Both pious and industrious, he a hard- 
working carpenter, she perhaps still an affectionate child 
under the parental roof. They were little known here, 
and less elsewhere. They longed and prayed for the 
promised Messiah, the consolation of Israel. One day a 
mysterious messenger from the spirit-world suddenly 
saluted Mary, and brought her the surprising intelligence 
that she was to be the mother of her Lord, the Messiah ; 
— though, by a Providential coincidence He was born in 
Bethlehem of Judea, He was ever after called Jesus of 
Nazareth. And so the humble home of Mary, who was 
"blessed among women," became blessed among cities, 
and received the solitary distinction of having its name 
connected with the Saviour of the world. 

This distinction was not awarded on the ground of 
merit ; for our Almighty Father always delights to bless 
from mercy rather than merit. The people of Nazareth 
bore a bad character, and doubtless deservedly so. As 
it was a Galilean town, it shared the reproach of the bad 
repute of Galilee, which had become famous for ignor- 
ance, turbulence, and its general inferiority to the other 
parts of Palestine. Once He visited the home of His 
childhood, as most persons will, if they can. It was on 



388 



MOUNT OF PRECIPITATION. 



a Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), when the Law was read in 
the synagogue. On such occasions strangers present 
were often invited to say a word of explanation. So 
Christ explained the passage read. They knew Him, 
and His humble mother and reputed father, who, it would 
seem, were unlettered people. They could see no reason 
why every one present should not know as much as He. 
"They were astonished and said, Whence hath this man 
this wisdom, and these mighty words ? Is not this the 
carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his 
brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And 
his sisters are they not all with us ? Whence then hath 
this man all these things ? And they were offended in 
him." Matt. 13 : 53-56. 

At another time he taught at home in the synagogue, 
" and they were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust 
him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the 
hill (whereon their city was built), that they might cast 
him down headlong. But he passing through the midst 
of them, went his way." Luke 4 : 28, 29. Around Na- 
zareth are still precipitous rocks, which would furnish 
"the brow" from which they attempted to cast him. 
The traditional place, called the Mount of Precipitation, 
is on the side of the mountain toward the plain of Jezreel, 
as you come from Jerusalem, about two miles from the 
town. But there would have been no need to go so far, 
when there were places near the town from which to cast 
him down. 

All this shows that Nazareth was pre-eminent for 
rudeness among the villages of Galilee. This is obvious, 
too, from the expression of Nathanael, himself of Cana 
in Galilee. When Philip told him at Bethsaida, twenty- 
five miles from here, that they had found the Messiah in 



HISTORY OF NAZARETH. 



389 



Jesus of Nazareth, he replied : " Can there any good 
thing come out of Nazareth ? " — an opinion which doubt- 
lees accorded with the prevailing sentiment of his country- 
men. It was in bad repute, from which nothing good 
was expected. 

After Christ, we find no mention of Nazareth for 400 
years. In the sixth century we find a Christian church 
here, which the Saracens destroyed. The Crusaders es- 
tablished a bishopric here. Afterward the whole country 
again fell into the hands of the Turks. In 1620, the 
Franciscan monks were suffered to rebuild their church 
and convent. In 1720 both were enlarged and beauti- 
fied. On the eve of his battle with the Turks in the 
neighboring plain of Jezreel, Napoleon dined at Naza- 
reth. 

The town is said to be larger now than at any previous 
period of its history, having a population of between 
3000 and 4000. Until the time of the Crusades it was 
a very inferior village, and before and since it has passed 
through many stormy vicissitudes, the victim of lawless 
violence. It has quietly grown during the last hundred 
years, owing to the uncurbed inroads of the Arabs from 
the Desert and beyond the Jordan, which have driven 
the people from the smaller neighboring villages hither 
for refuge, until it has become the most important town 
in Galilee. 

The houses are of stone, and built after the Eastern 
style, having flat roofs, without the domes found in Jeru- 
salem and elsewhere. The dwellings generally are small, 
the largest building being the Latin convent and church. 
The streets are irregular, crooked, narrow, and hilly ; 
some of them abounding with rubbish and heaps of de- 
33* 



390 



FAMILY MILLS. 



bris. The front of the houses is all solid masonry, save 
a small door of entrance. 

Passing through the street a little before the evening 
meal, I noticed two women grinding on a mill within one 
of these doors, just as our Saviour has it in predicting 
his second coming : " Two women shall be grinding at 
the mill; the one shall «be taken and the other left." 
Matt. 24 : 41. They were sitting on rough matting or 
perhaps sackcloth, spread on the ground. The mill con- 
sisted of two stones, perhaps a foot or eighteen inches 
in diameter and six inches high, one laid on the other 
like regular burr-stones. The upper one had an upright 
handle near the outer edge, and a small cavity in the 
centre into which the grain was poured. Each had one 
hand on the handle turning the upper stone, and one 
used her other hand to put grain into the little receiver. 
Usually they grind before every meal as they need it. 
Passing along the streets of Eastern towns, just before 
meal-time, I could often hear the rumbling noise of the 
mill. 

These family mills are frequently alluded to in the 
Bible. "When the country was cursed with a famine, 
the mills and the noise of grinding would be stopped, 
which was an indication that bread was scarce. " The 
sound of the grinding is low." Eccle. 12 : 4. " I will 
take from them . . . the sound of the millstones." Jer. 
25 : 10. John says of Babylon : "And the sound of a 
millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee." Rev. 
18 : 22. One rarely meets with mills of any other kind. 
With the roving habits of Arabs and even of the ancient 
Hebrews, it was an indispensable domestic implement. 
Moses shows his sound common sense and foresight, by 
making .it a part of the Law that " no man shall take 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MILLSTONE. 891 



the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he 
taketh a man's life to pledge." Deut. 24 : 6. As the 
lower or nether millstone, bearing the weight of the 
upper and therefore more of the friction of grinding, 
usually becomes harder by wear, Job uses it as a figure 
to illustrate the hard heart of the leviathan. " His 
heart is as firm as a stone ; yea as hard as a piece of 
the nether millstone." Job 41 : 24. Grinding was, and 
still is, often the work of slaves or captives. Poor blind 
Sampson was brought down to Gaza, and compelled to 
" grind in the prison-house." Judges 16 : 21. Those 
that were in the lowest layer of society, the antipodes 
of kings, were among the grinders. The last plague of 
Egypt extended "from the first-born of Pharaoh that 
sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the 
maid -servant that is behind the mill." Ex. 11 : 5. And 
Isaiah, predicting the righteous judgment of God upon 
the foes of Israel, tells the virgin daughter of Babylon 
and of the Chaldeans, " Take the millstone and grind 
meal." Isaiah 47 : 2. 

According to our common notions of the size of a mill- 
stone, the Saviour's expression about sinking him that 
giveth offence to the depth of the sea, would seem next 
to impossible. But these domestic mills clearly illustrate 
his expression ; not being too large to lift for such a use, 
and still heavy enough to sink a person. " But whoso 
shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, 
it were better that a millstone were hanged about his 
neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." 
Matt. 18 : 6. In some parts of the East the custom still 
prevails to bind stones to the necks of criminals, and cast 
them to the bottom of the sea. 

Toward evening we ascended a hill on the west of the 



392 



VIEW FROM NAZARETH. 



town, rising about 500 feet above the bottom of the 
basin. 

It is crowned by the tomb of a Moslem saint — the 
Wely of Neby Ismail. What a view for one in the middle 
of the nineteenth century ! There lay the luxuriant 
plain of Jezreel, with its bloody history. On its further 
border, Gilboa. Endor and Nain on the rising slope of 
the little Hermon. Mount Tabor, towering high out of 
the plain. And north of it the great Mount Hermon, 
whose head, way up in the clouds, was white with eternal 
snow. Saphet, "the city set on a hill" of our Saviour 
(Matt. 5 : 14), hung high up on a mountain bluff. About 
five miles to the north-west, in a vale, lay Sefurieh, the 
Sephoris of Josephus, and the Diocaesarea of the Romans 
and the fathers. In the same little plain is " Cana of 
Galilee," where Christ turned the water into wine at the 
wedding, and the native place of Nathanael. John 2:1; 
4 : 46 ; 21 : 2. Some think Joseph aud Mary lived here 
during the early part of our Saviour's ministry. Then 
on the west is the vast blue sea, from whose shore rises 
Mount Carmel, with the town of Caipha at its base. 

The centre of this thrilling scene is this "peaceful 
basin " which encircles Nazareth. The mountains rise 
around it "like the edge of a shell to guard it from 
intrusion." How appropriate that He who is without 
beginning of days or end of years, " the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever," should be born in a place without a 
history ! Surely He must often have stood on this hill, 
and looked out upon this great and grand prospect — on 
places where He afterward performed miracles, where 
He was transfigured, where He was rejected by His own 
townsmen ; and out on the vast sea He looked, over which 
the "glad tidings " of his atoning death were borne toward 



travellers' annoyances 



393 



the western world, and a continent then undiscovered 
and unknown. 

Nazareth is remarkably quiet, for a town of its size. 
From that hill-top we could look into all its narrow 
streets, in which but few persons were seen. A group 
of little boys were romping about in play on a flat house- 
top, hallooing in their innocent glee, just as boys do in 
the parks and village-greens of our dear native land. 
Of course, where there are no wagons, drays, or car- 
riages, there can be little noise. No axe or hammer 
broke the hush of the place, only the boys on the house- 
top. As the sun was sinking toward the sea in the west, 
a few birds started a song, which set hundreds of unseen 
singers to warbling, until the olive-trees around the 
"city" were vocal with a confusion of melodies, such as 
I have never heard elsewhere. This was another day 
to think about. Wearied and hungry, we repaired to 
our cool cell in the convent, where our dinner was wait- 
ing. It may seem a trifling matter to the reader ; but, 
after a long repetition of the same dishes, salad, green 
beans, and other extras, were a dainty which we had 
little expected in a place where fasting is the rule and 
feasting the exception. And what then ? Patching tat- 
tered garments, as usual. Sounds irreverent, after such 
solemn reveries ; but. even in Nazareth, a man must 
have an eye to his mortal wants. The reader will know 
how to make allowance for such vulgarities, should he 
ever get beyond the reach of tailors, shoemakers, and 
dry-goods stores. Here a man will learn industry, if 
there is any such a thing in him. Since I left Egypt I 
have been sorely put-to, at different times, to stitch to- 
gether the shreds of worn-out clothes, burnt up by the 
hot sun. Had I adopted the whole Turkish dress, my 



394 



THE BROOK KISH ON. 



tribulation would have been less annoying. On the fol- 
lowing morning we started for the Convent of Mount 
Carmel, distant about twenty-five miles. Two hours 
brought us out, across the mountain, into the plain of 
Jezreel, toward the sea. Here and there we passed a 
small Arab village, whose owners raised fine fields of 
wheat. We met a few wandering tribes, with their cat- 
tle. These move about, and live in tents, wherever they 
find pasture for their flocks. In three hours we reached 
a ridge, running across the plain, abounding with large 
oaks and tall grass. In four hours we arrived at the 
"Brook Kishon." Like most streams in the East, it is 
dependent on the rains for its water. At this time it 
was small, perhaps thirty or forty feet wide. Like most 
of the " brooks " of Palestine, it is a mere water-torrent, 
till within a few miles from the sea. 

We are now near the foot of Mount Carmel, in sight 
of the top, where Elijah met the prophets of Baal. 
Let us pause to look at this thrilling scene. On the 
eastern end of the Carmel ridge, on a wide upland sweep, 
a clump of ancient olives are grouped around a well, 
which the people of the neighborhood say never fails. 
There is no town here, only a shapeless ruin, whither the 
Druses come to offer a yearly sacrifice. Old traditions 
point to this spot as a place where the ancients offered 
sacrifices. It is one of the very few traditions, perhaps 
the only one, "in which the recollection of an alleged 
event has been actually retained in the native Arabic 
nomenclature. Many names of towns have been so pre- 
served, but here is no town, only a shapeless ruin ; yet 
the spot has a name, 4 El-Maharrakah ' (the same name 
is applied to the scene of the Samaritan sacrifice on 
Gerizim), 'the Burning' or 'the Sacrifice'." Elijah did 



ELIJAH ON CAE MEL. 



395 



not build a new altar, but repaired that which " was 
broken down," showing that it had before been a place 
of sacrifice. 

It had not rained for three years and a half. The 
ground had become parched, the grass was all burnt up 
in this fertile plain of Jezreel, and the people died fast 
for want of bread. Ahab sent Obadiah "unto all the 
fountains of water, and unto all the brooks," in search 
for "grass to save the horses and mules alive." After 
such a season of drought, nearly all the fountains must 
have been dried up. But here was this never-failing 
well, then as now, on Carmel. Where else could Elijah 
have found water enough to "pour it on the burnt-sacri- 
fice and on the wood" three times, until "the water ran 
about the altar ; and he filled the trench also with 
water?" Here again, as elsewhere, a well becomes a 
monument of the past, to identify an important locality. 
1 Kings 18 : 30-40. 

Hither Elijah brought the prophets of Baal and those 
of the groves or of Astarte, 850 in all ; we have Ahab 
and the priests on the one side, and on the other the 
stern, solitary figure of the man of God. Immediately 
below them was this brook of Kishon, worming its way 
toward the Bay of Acre, at whose banks we now stand. 
The whole plain spread out before them with its cities 
and villages — Jezreel, with Ahab's palace and Jezreel's 
temple clearly seen ; Shunem, where lived Elisha's friend ; 
and Tabor, Bashan, Gilead, and Gilboa in the distance, 
all witnessed the awfully solemn ceremony which was to 
decide who was God, Baal or the Lord. From morning 
till noon they "cried aloud" to the fabulous god, and 
at the evening sacrifice (at three in the afternoon), 
Elijah prepared his offering, invoked fire from heaven, 



896 THE IDOLATROUS PRIESTS SLAIN. 

which consumed the altar, bullock, and water. Then he 
brought the false prophets "down" the sides of the 
mountain "to the brook Kishon," doubtless near where 
we are now standing, " and slew them there." 1 Kings 
18 : 40. 

The false prophets slain, "Elijah said unto Ahab, 
Get thee up, eat and drink ; for there is a sound of 
abundance of rain." So the king "went up" again 
from this bloody spectacle to the mountain., meanwhile 
pensively pondering over what he had seen. "And 
Elijah went up to the top of Carmel," to where they had 
sacrificed near the well. Right above the altar is still a 
knoll or elevation, which intercepts the view of the sea. 
In a few minutes you can ascend to the top from the well, 
affording a view of the Mediterranean. Elijah "cast 
himself down upon the earth" in the neighborhood of 
the well, from where he could not see it. Hence he 
" said to his servant, Go up now [to this adjacent 
hill], look toward the sea." Most likely the sun had 
already set, draping the heavens with a momentary gor- 
geous splendor, so peculiar to an oriental sunset. Seven 
times he looked out into this heaven of brass, which 
spread its glowing image on the sea, and the seventh 
time only he saw a little cloud where the sea and the 
sky met, "like a man's hand." It soon covered the lu- 
minous trail of the departed sun. The king is kindly 
advised to hasten to Jezreel, twelve or fifteen miles off, 
before the rain will swell the torrent of Kishon and 
endanger his progress. Ahab mounts his chariot at the 
foot of the mountain and speeds him away; Elijah 
tightens his "girdle of leather" around his loose, 
coarse blanket (2 Kings 1 : 8), so that it will not hamper 
his limbs, and outruns the king in his chariot, for he was 



FLEETNESS OF THE BEDOUIN. 



39T 



swift afoot, as the Bedouins of his native Gilead still are. 
The little cloud soon becomes large and black over Car- 
mel, like a pall, and the forests shake with the wind, 
which in eastern regions herald the coming tempest. 
Then comes the long-desired rain, tumbling in torrents 
down Carmel's side and athwart the plain of Jezreel. 

One still finds many counterparts to the swift-footed 
Elijah among the Bedouins of the East, whose abstemious 
habits and exemption from the debilitating effects of 
luxury give them a marvellous fleetness of foot. In 
looking at their sunken eagle eyes, lean figures, scanty 
garments (like a coarse shawl with arm-holes for sleeves, 
and a girdle around the loins), and their wild physique, 
bearing the stamp of a mysterious intrepidity, I could 
not help but think of the prophet as he ran across the 
plain to Jezreel, his long hair and belted blanket stream- 
ing in the air, as the black clouds were rapidly rolling 
after him from the sea. 1 Kings 18 : 46. 

The brooks of Kedron, Kishon, Eshcol, and most 
others alluded to in the Bible, only contain water during 
the freshets of the rainy seasons. Sometimes you meet 
a clear streamlet on the shady mountain-side, but as soon 
as you reach the plain, where "it is hot," the water 
gradually soaks away until there is nothing left. In 
winter, when little needed, they are generally full and 
loud with promises, but when the hot and dry season 
comes, and man and beast need them, 44 what time they 
wax warm, they vanish." When summer droughts parch 
the earth, the Bedouin vainly hopes to water his fields 
with their contents, and brings his thirsty, bleating flocks 
thither only to find them empty. Even this Kishon in 
the winter is a broad, rapid, roaring stream, clear up to 
34 



398 



CARMEL FAVORED. 



Mount Tabor, whilst in the summer it is dry till within a 
few miles from the sea. 

" My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brooJc, 
And as the stream of brooks they pass away ; 
Which are blackish by reason of the ice, 
And wherein the snow is hid : 
What time they wax warm, they vanish: 
When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 
The paths of their way are turned aside ; 
They go to nothing and perish." 

Job, 6 : 15-18. 

I can easily see why Isaiah should speak of the " ex- 
cellency of Carmel." Isaiah 35 : 2. True, the oak trees 
are somewhat dwarfed, and are not so large and numer- 
ous as those we have just passed coming from Nazareth; 
but its ascent, except on the north-west, is not steep. 
Even now its gradual slopes are covered with grassy 
glades, still inviting the flocks to pasture as in the days 
of Micah, who figuratively alludes to it in a prayer for 
Israel : 44 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy 
heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood in the midst 
of Carmel." Micah 7 : 14. From this it would seem that 
it was not much inhabited then. There are now some 
ten or eleven Moslem and Druse villages on and around 
it. Another allusion of Amos indicates that its pastures 
were not liable to wither, except by special judgments: 
"The habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the 
top of Carmel shall wither." Amos 1 : 2. There are no 
longer any vineyards on Carmel ; (the name in the He- 
brew means vineyard). I can well conceive, however, 
why this range of lofty slopes, which meet the first rays 
of the rising sun, should have been selected by King Uz- 
ziah for vineyards, who had " vinedressers in the moun- 
tains and in Carmel" 2 Chron. 26 : 10. Its ravines and 



TENTS ON HOUSE-TOPS. 



399 



rock-caves still offer hiding places, for which it was an- 
ciently famous : " Though they dig into hell, thence shall 
my hand take them ; though they climb up to heaven, 
thence will I bring them down ; and though they hide 
themselves in the top of Oarmel, I will search and take 
them out thence.'' Amos 9 : 2, 3. Jeremiah swears by 
it, showing in what esteem it wa& then held : "As I live, 
saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, surely 
as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Oarmel by the 
sea, so shall he come." Jer. 46 : 18. 

After crossing the Kishon we rode along the foot of 
Mount Carmel toward the sea. The few villages which 
we passed were along the rising slopes of the mountain 
base, where the swelling torrent of the overflowing river 
could not reach them in the winter. On some house-tops 
were tents or booths, made of leafy tree-branches. In 
pleasant weather the people spend much of their time on 
the flat roofs of their dwellings, to breathe the fresh air, 
and enjoy the prospect of the world without. During 
the summer they even sleep there. To shield them from 
the rays of the burning sun they put up these leafy tents, 
just as the Jews did who had returned from their Baby- 
lonian captivity. " So the people went forth and brought 
them [branches], and made themselves booths, every one 
upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in 
the courts of the house of God." Neh. 8 : 15, 16. 

We continued in the plain to the sea-shore, and there 
passed through the town of Caipha, and ascended the 
mountain, through olive groves, to the convent. It 
stands on the western end- of Carmel, which here forms 
a promontory in the sea. After passing through an arched 
gateway, we dismounted before the massive building, 
where one of the monks received us with apparent cordi- 



400 



INVOLUNTARY IMPRISONMENT. 



alitj. In a cool but sparingly furnished room, he poured 
upon us a stream of welcomes and friendly inquiries, 
which would have received a worthy reply had not my 
French failed me. 

The sirocco had blown during the middle of the day, 
producing the customary languor and weariness. After 
returning to the room .assigned us for lodging, we at 
once sought relief by sleep, but upon waking found that 
the monk had locked us in. Shades of Anthony ! To be 
incarcerated in the little thick-walled cell of a monastery, 
and made an involuntary monk ! Here too, right over 
the cell of the first hermit, Elijah ! It was all in vain to 
clatter and thump against the heavy cell door, in this 
out-of-the-way corner. While looking out on the sea 
through the heavy iron bars which grated the window, 
we espied a German pilgrim in the court below, whom I 
besought most earnestly in plain German to come to our 
relief. Soon we heard the welcome steps of the monk, 
who unbarred the door, and of course made a penitent 
bow, with a u Pardon, messieurs" for our undesigned 
imprisonment. 

By this time a party of Austrian and Tyrolese pilgrims 
had arrived, whom we had met before at Jerusalem 
and the Jordan. Among these was my stern friend, who 
commanded me to get out of his lamp light on Calvary. 
This party of pilgrims, numbering perhaps some twenty 
or thirty, visited the Dead Sea an hour after we left it. 
While there they noticed a party of Bedouin robbers 
bearing down on them, and making an effort to surround 
them. A venerable priestly father, with white locks and 
a flowing beard, who doubtless had measured lances in 
his younger days, immediately assumed the command of 
his brethren, nearly all priests. After defiling them in 



A MARTIAL PRIEST. 



401 



battle array, with their swords, guns, and pistols in hand, 
ready for fight, he drew up his Arab steed, galloped up 
and down along the line, sword in hand, and, with a fierce 
stentorian voice, prepared for the expected conflict. His 
prancing steed, seemingly proud of his hoary rider, 
snuffed the air in .disdain. The whole reminds one of the 
scene between the Knight of the Couchant Leopard and 
the Saracen, in their fearful collision near this spot, 
during the crusade of Richard the Lion-Hearted. The 
father showed a martial pluck and skill which these modern 
Barabbases little expected. At all events they evaded 
an attack by a retreat. Had they come an hour sooner, 
the result might have been different. For we only had a 
small escort of Turkish soldiers, who are generally the 
first to run. As this was Friday, we had to content our- 
selves with a fast-day dinner at the Convent of Mount 
Carmel, composed chiefly of fish, which, after such a busy 
day, were greatly relished. They were fresh from the 
sea below the convent, in quality faultless, in quantity 
barely sufficient to feed such a hungry crew. Under the 
convent is a cave, converted into a chapel, where Elijah 
is said to have found shelter after he had slain the false 
prophets. To commemorate this event, the monastery 
was built on this spot. In the morning, before we left, I 
descended into this chapel, and found one of the German 
pilgrims celebrating mass, and my friend, the Tyrolese 
peasant, whom I had met on Olivet, swinging the incense 
before the altar. The cave is like many others on this 
and other mountains, which may be as old as Carmel 
itself. The priest muttering mass, and the wan pilgrims 
kneeling quietly on the damp floor of the dark cavern ; the 
earnest simple peasant bowing and crossing himself as he 
served the priest, and all this on Carmel, made my heart 
34* 



402 



ACRE. 



fill up. Protestant as I was, I knelt me down and poured 
out the desires and burdens of a thankful heart in my 
own way. 

The convent is on the western shoulder of Carmel, 
about 600 feet above the sea. One never wearies look- 
ing at this Mediterranean. Here was the highway of 
ancient commerce between Phoenicia, Syria, Canaan, 
and Egypt, all in sight of this mountain. All gone 
now. Only a few white sails in the distance, and an 
Austrian steamer down there in the harbor of Caipha, 
which has touched here to take the German pilgrims on 
board. To the north of this is the white sandy sea-coast 
of Acre shimmering in the sun, of which we are allowed 
to have only this distant glimpse. From this " heated 
sandy" tract it derives its name. The plain which con- 
tains it is about twenty miles long, and becomes fertile 
as it recedes from the sea. It is the Accho which 
belonged to the tribe of Asher, whose dominion extended 
northward along the coast to Sidon. Judges 1 : 31. 
Joppa, Caipha (right below us), and Acre, were the three 
ancient harbors of Palestine. It is the Ptolemais where 
Paul "saluted the brethren and abode with them one 
day," on his last land journey to Jerusalem. Acts 21 : 7. 
On account of its peculiar situation, Napoleon I. called 
it "the Keystone of the East." This has made it the 
central point of attack to all invaders of Palestine for 
thousands of years. It has so often been battered into 
ruins, that only the shadow of the ancient Acre remains. 

These convents are a very convenient arrangement to 
entertain travellers in countries where there are no 
hotels. Of late years a few so-called hotels have been 
opened in Jerusalem, during the travelling season. But 
outside of this there are none in all Palestine. Travellers 



EASTERN CONVENTS. 



403 



either lodge in their own tents or in convents ; occasion- 
ally one procures accommodations in a private house. 
Natives of the East usually lodge in khans or caravan- 
sarai, made of a high wall, with a strong gate, which is 
locked after night. Men, women, and children, and beasts 
of burden, lodge promiscuously together in the same 
apartment, each bringing their food, and sometimes their 
provender, with them. But convents can supply travel- 
lers with all they need, and the monks, especially these, 
are models of entertaining urbanity. And all is done 
and given without pay, except what their guests may 
choose to give them in the form of alms. The buildings 
are massive piles of masonry, and sometimes having high 
walls around them. In fact many are fortresses, which, 
like feudal castles, are intended to afford shelter in times 
of war. When marauding Bedouin tribes sweep over the 
country, the affrighted helpless natives often find a 
refuge within the walls of convents. Thus they have 
become the modern cities of refuge to the people of God. 

Of course, their primary object is to afford a home to 
recluses, who wish to withdraw entirely from the world, 
and give themselves wholly to a life of meditation, fast- 
ing, and prayer. I have seen nothing in these two con- 
vents at Nazareth and Carmel to impress me unfavorably 
of their personal habits. As they are much frequented 
by travellers, the monks spend no little time and labor 
in "serving tables." But I cannot think any the worse 
of their piety for serving their fellow-sinners in this way. 
How much progress they make in the divine life, and 
how far their motives and zeal are pure and Christian, I 
cannot judge. These Carmelite monks are certainly 
the most intelligent and refined monastics I have ever 
met. After enjoying their disinterested hospitality, and 



404 



ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 



seeing nothing in their conduct but what accorded with 
the character of gentlemen, I do not feel called upon to 
invent blemishes in their practice, or rehash the oft-told 
tales of monkish corruptions. I think, however, that 
they might serve their Maker better in some other sphere ; 
for I have little taste for a beneficence which is disso- 
ciated from human sympathy and woe, albeit, accord- 
ing to their opinion, Elijah was a recluse, — the most 
ancient one — who set the first example of a hermit-life. 
It is true, he fled from the haunts of men to Beersheba 
and Horeb ; but God sent him back into the busy world 
again, to do his little share of work among his fellow- 
men. 1 Kings 19 : 15, 16. 

Mount Carmel may have been the theatre of events 
which were greater in the eyes of the world ; but none 
have stamped it with such immortal memories, as the 
visits and acts of Elijah and Elisha. Doubtless, both 
spent much time here of which the Bible says nothing. 
May not " the top of an hill " on which Elijah sat, when 
the men of Ahaziah found him, have been somewhere on 
Carmel ? 2 Kings 1 : 9. How would the Shunammite 
have known that Elisha was on "Mount Carmel," when 
her boy died, had not that been a place of resort to him ? 
Great men stamp their glory on all they touch. Though 
dead, they live in the theatres of their deeds while the 
world stands. Abraham and Beersheba, Moses and Mount 
Sinai, Elijah and Carmel, are inseparable. The name 
of one calls up the name of the other. 

After spending part of the morning on the terrace or 
roof of the convent, looking at the changeless sea, and 
at some of the cities and scenes along its coast, and 
meditating upon their marvellous history, we prepared 
to depart. The Prior pressed our hands with a cordial 



THE HART OF THE BIBLE. 



405 



adieu, and we turned our faces once more toward Naza- 
reth. Going down the mountain we met lovely roses 
and other flowers growing wild. Birds, too, of gaudy 
plumage flew and warbled among the old olives o£ Car- 
ina's slopes. 

Beyond the Kishon we started several gazelles, pos- 
sibly on their way to the river in search of water. So 
they did when David compared his longing for the living 
God to " the hart panting for the water brooks." Psalm 
42 : 1. In the Bible they are spoken of under the names 
of harts, roes, and hinds. How gracefully and timidly 
they leap over the plain ! sometimes bounding like a hare. 
The gazelle was a favorite of Solomon, doubtless, on 
account of its pure, innocent, and cleanly habits. They 
were affectionate withal ; for Jeremiah shows the severity 
of an impending famine, by saying that even the hind 
forsook its young, " because 'there was no grass." Jer. 
14 : 5. Solomon portrays the tender love of Christ to 
his Church by the gazelle : " The voice of my beloved ! 
behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping 
upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart." 
Song of Sol. 2 : 8, 9. They mostly spend their days 
among the hills, and after night they steal down to the 
plains, and feed on the rich grass, mixed with lilies, until 
the day dawns and the shades of night disappear. " He 
feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the 
shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a 
roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether." 
Song of Sol. 2 : 17. They are timid beings — the slight- 
est noise or rustling among the leaves will start them. 
While cropping grass or leaves, they often stop to look 
and listen for danger. Therefore he charges the daugh- 
ters of Jerusalem, by the roes and by the hinds of the 
field, " not to stir up nor awake his love, till he please." 



406 



THE EAGLE AND ITS YOUNG. 



Song of Sol. 3 : 5. Fifty miles north-east of this is the 
land of Naphtali, where the nimble-footed gazelles still 
abound to this day. Jacob says of him: "Naphtali is 
a hind let loose." Gen. 49 : 21. He, doubtless, referred 
to the wild, fleet, Bedouin character, which this tribe was 
to acquire on these rough mountain heights of northern 
Galilee. Eastern poets compare their fair ones to the 
coy gazelle, with its charming hazel eyes and timid mod- 
esty, that comes by night, and steals a passage into their 
hearts, to pasture upon their affections. The gazelle is 
about as large as a small American deer, and their meat 
is considered quite a dainty by travellers. 

How plaintively the voice of the cuckoo sounded in the 
deeply shaded oak forest of Jezreel ! And eagles soared 
high in the air, in a way wonderful even to Solomon. 
Prov. 30 : 19. How God makes these eagles preach ! 
They have more to say in the Bible than any other bird, 
and say it so wisely and well too. Unclean animal as 
they were (Lev. 11 : 13), they are not without use in 
the world. Saul and Jonathan were swifter than the 
eagle in his flight. 2 Sam. 1 : 23. They have a strange 
method to teach their young to fly. They are generally 
awkward and clumsy before they are fledged, and for a 
long while refuse to venture out of their lofty nest into 
the air. Finally the parent, thinking it time that they 
should launch out upon the air, pitches into the brood, 
as if to throw them out, and in their fright and fear, lest 
they might drop to the earth, they climb on the extended 
wings of the old eagle, which flies aloft with this burden 
of affection, to give them lessons in flying. So God 
taught the Hebrews, who had been stripped, by Egyptian 
bondage, of faith and moral strength, dealing with them 
as with helpless children. "As an eagle stirreth up her 
nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her 



HABITS OF THE EAGLE. 407 

wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the 
Lord alone did lead him and there was no strange god 
with him." Deut. 32 : 11-12. Or as Goldsmith has 
it, in his beautiful description of a faithful pastor 

"And as a bird each fond endearment tries, 
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies ; 
He tries each art, reproves each dull delay, 
Allures to brighter worlds, and leads the way." 

" Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how 
I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto my- 
self." Ex. 19 : 4. Among the tall cliffs of Edom, Judea, 
and Lebanon, you often see their " nest on high." Job 
39 : 27-28. You watch her poised high in mid-hea- 
ven, like a speck floating in sunlight. Even from that 
height she sees the smallest lamb, kid, or gazelle, and 
spirally descends round and round, then abruptly makes 
the fatal plunge, head foremost, with wings closed, and 
bears it off to her nest. 

" Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, 
And make her nest on high? 
She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, 
Upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. 
From thence she seeketh the prey, 
And her eyes behold afar off. 
Her young ones also suck up blood: 
And where the slain are, there is she." 

Job, 39 : 27-30. 

They live to a very old age, strong and hale with the 
vigor of youth. So the faithful have their youth "re- 
newed, like the eagles." Psalm 103 : 5. " They that 
wait upon the Lord shall reneiv their strength ; they shall 
mount up with wings as eagles." Isaiah 40 : 31. Sud- 
denly as an eagle pounces upon his prey, the Lord visits 
the transgressions of his people. Hosea 8 : 1. 



408 



EVENING AT NAZARETH. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



€p f nm* 0f Puts »«i \tx &\\\\. 

After our arrival at Nazareth, I again climbed up 
the hill to enjoy another evening prospect. In holy 
places the wish to be alone is irresistible. Alone I was, 
and yet not all alone, for solitude is sometimes the best 
society. Groups and lines of women came out to the 
well with water-pots on their heads, for water. A few 
white tents were among the olives at the edge of the town, 
belonging to some of our friends who had just arrived. 
Softly the sun sank toward the sea. The shadow of 
the hill crept over Nazareth. It became longer and 
longer, across the dale, up the hills on the other side. 
Then the birds set up such a thousand-piped warbling as 
I have never heard. The herdsmen came down the hill- 
sides toward home with their herds. Of a sudden all 
was quiet, as if by the bidding of a magician's wand. 
Here was the home of Jesus. The valley, the hills, the 
sea, the sky, the stars, all then as now. And these He 
saw. And here He felt as other boys feel ; had a 
mother whom He loved, and who loved Him, who felt as 
mothers feel, fed Him as mothers feed, and patted Him 
as her dear child, though a divine boy. what hopes 
Mary nurses, what blessings she prepares for the world — 
for us ! Here I sit beside the grave of a Mohammedan. 



IMPRESSIONS OF SACRED SCENES. 409 



Poor being ! he knew not the boy of Nazareth. But for 
the darkness I would fain sit here till morning. Up 
there is the silvery new moon, a thin crescent with a star 
hanging over its horns, just like the device on the Turk- 
ish banner. Out over the dark sea a faint gleam of light 
lingers in the western sky. There is my dear America, 
my home. The home of Jesus, my earthly home, and 
home in heaven ! 

''0 Jesus, conduct me to heaven, my home!" 

April 26th, 1857. — The next day was the Sabbath. 
Early in the morning we repaired to the church of the 
Annunciation, where a small congregation was already 
engaged in worship. The organ tones sounded sweetly 
and familiarly, like those of the fatherland. A choir of 
boys chanted hymns of praise. At 10 A. M. we wor- 
shipped with some English friends, who read the Episcopal 
service in their tent. The Litany impressed me with new 
and solemn force. God is nigh unto all who call upon 
him, and yet spots consecrated by the life and suffering 
of our Saviour, seem nearer the Divine Being than any 
others. Some may call it superstition, but my first 
thoughts at places which I felt were not invested with 
fictitious sacredness, impelled me to meditation and 
prayer. On Mount Zion, in sight of Gethsemane, Cal- 
vary, and Olivet, it was easy to follow with a devout 
heart and tongue the petitions of the Litany: "By 
Thine Agony and bloody Sweat; by Thy Cross and 
Passion ; by Thy precious Death and Burial ; by Thy 
glorious Resurrection and Ascension ; and by the Coming 
of the Holy Ghost, Good Lord deliver us." And here 
in this frail tent at Nazareth we prayed : " By the mys- 
tery of Thy Holy Incarnation, Good Lord deliver us." 
35 



410 



A SUFFERING MISSIONARY. 



The population of Nazareth is prevailingly Christian, 
composed of different sects, which are unfavorable to 
missions. The few attempts of Protestant missionaries 
have thus far proved fruitless here. In the afternoon 
I went with a Scotch friend to visit Mr. Zeller, a Ger- 
man missionary in the employ of the Church of England 
Missionary Society. On the steep ascent of the hill 
rising above the town, stood a small stone edifice alone, 
with a few little improvements around it, showing marks 
of a European taste. Entering the little elevated dwell- 
ing, we found a pale young man, reclining on a plain 
couch, in a room almost devoid of furniture, suffering 
with a bilious attack. He had no family ; a turbaned 
Nazarite was his only attendant and nurse, and he him- 
self his only physician. Far from his kindred, in this 
lonely place, with this solitary stranger for his companion, 
I watched his quick breath and fevered brow, beyond 
the reach of the soothing hand of affection, with emotions 
of pity and sadness, and tried to speak words of comfort 
to his sad heart. 

He had been in the East but a year or two, and had 
not fully mastered the language. He said he had but a 
few hearers in a little private room, and these were 
cruelly persecuted ; and that his stammering efforts to 
preach in a foreign tongue, furnished poor hopes of 
getting a larger audience. Mohammedans and Christian 
sects were doing all they could to embarrass him and 
embitter his trials. I felt sad to part from him, fearing 
that he would soon follow the large band of missionaries 
who have fallen victims to the trials and climate of the 
East. After my return home, I learned of his recovery 
through a German European paper, in whose columns I 
also found the following dreary picture of Palestine from 



AN IMPUDENT THIEF. 



411 



his pen, which I have translated for the benefit of the 
reader : 

"Although I have been in Palestine but a short time, 
I could fill a volume with shocking cases of oppression, 
misery, and crime of every kind, which have come to my 
ears. What I have seen within two weeks, on a journey 
from Nazareth to Jerusalem, and on my return, may suf- 
fice to give an idea of the present* state of things in 
Palestine. On my way to Jerusalem, I visited a Coptic 
Christian, who told me that four head of cattle were 
stolen from him the previous night by persons whom he 
recognized. While we were speaking of this matter, the 
leader of the thieves entered the door in broad daylight, 
and demanded a considerable amount of ransom money 
to deliver the stolen cattle. The owner, although the 
Secretary of the Governor of Jenin, who has at his com- 
mand a pretty large number of mounted soldiers, did not 
venture to arrest him, and found that the only way to 
get back his cattle would be to pay the ransom money. 
The Government, with all its retinue of satellites, fears 
the robbers more than the robbers fear the Government. 

" I passed a hill-side, planted with thriving young fig- 
trees, which presented a pitiful aspect. All the trees 
had been cut down. This is the usual way in which the 
quarrelling parties take revenge on each other, without 
being punished for it. The district of Nablous (Shechem) 
is constantly harassed and buffeted by wars between two 
contending parties, aspiring to grasp the reins of govern- 
ment. Stopping at another place to water my horses, I 
was accosted by a farmer, with torn garments and a 
bleeding face, begging me to procure for him the protec- 
tion of a European consul, otherwise his foes would not 
rest until they had killed him, as he could not expect 



412 



THE SCOURGE OF PALESTINE. 



protection from the Turkish Government. On my return 
from Nablous, my travelling companions, having lingered 
behind the party, were attacked by a band of robbers, 
who pelted my friends with stones, and cried to their 
companions to surround them. They escaped narrowly 
with their lives. 

" In Nablous I found a Protestant from the neighboring 
village of Raphidim, who, with five other families, was 
compelled to abandon his house, property, and village, 
to escape the intolerable extortion of Bedouin chiefs and 
of the Government. When I travelled through the 
Valley of Jezreel, the aspect of this beautiful plain was 
alive with the black tents of Bedouins. To these plun- 
dering tribes we owe it, that this loveliest plain of Pales- 
tine is strewn with ruined villages. In the spring they 
come up from the Jordan, with their herds, and graze off 
what the farmers have sown along the edge of the plain; 
and for those parts not eaten up by the herds, the owners 
must pay a heavy sum of ransom money to the Bedouin 
chiefs. The Turkish Government is deaf to the com- 
plaints of these distressed farmers, and their cries for 
relief. And, what is still worse, it exacts, with a merci- 
less hand, fixed and arbitrary taxes; and, should the 
oppressed peasants find it difficult to pay them, the sol- 
diers of the Pasha will prove more relentlessly cruel than 
the Bedouins. 

"I will give the following as a specimen. Recently a 
large quantity of costly silks was stolen from a travelling 
merchant, out of the public inn at Nazareth. Through 
the intervention of the consuls at Jerusalem, the authori- 
ties of Nazareth were compelled to institute an investi- 
gation. A suspected person, blind from his youth, was 
arrested, and was bastinadoed with four hundred stripes. 



TURKISH OPPRESSION. 



413 



Afterward it was discovered that the Turkish Judge 
was the chief in the robbery, who had only used the 
blind man as his tool. The Judge remained perfectly at 
ease, though he was aware that others knew him to be a 
party in the matter. The people expressed no surprise 
that the Judge retained the stolen goods, for they have 
long ago become accustomed to such conduct. 

"One of our people in Jaffa (Joppa) is at present 
involved in a very unpleasant lawsuit. A young Moham- 
medan fell into a well, and was killed. His relatives 
now allege that a member of our congregation has killed 
him, and demand his blood, — which means, that one of 
his family must die for the murdered man. It has been 
clearly proven that the accused was far away from the 
well at the time the matter occurred. All seem to be 
convinced that the relatives of the dead man only desig- 
nate this poor man as the murderer, with a view to extort 
money for his release. They now incessantly threaten 
to kill him and his whole family. He had a thriving 
young olive orchard, worth about 1000 florins ($400), 
which they hewed down for him. They surrounded his 
house in Joppa of a night, and fired bullets into the walls 
and doors. At length he found himself compelled to pay 
300 florins. After this appeared a wretched Bedouin, 
not in the least related with the deceased, and threatened 
to avenge his blood. Neither the Government nor the 
consuls have power to check these persecutions. 

" Recently our school teacher, Elias Essaptar, in Cefer 
Cana, was asked by the Judge of Nazareth, how he could 
presume to instruct a Mohammedan in the Christian reli- 
gion. Elias replied : ' The man asked me himself to 
instruct him.' "Whereupon the Judge threatened to plunge 
the teacher and his pupil into the direst misfortune, if 
35* 



414 



EFFECTS OF MISRULE. 



they would venture to speak a word together in the future. 
The Vice- Consul of Caipha, being present, reminded the 
Judge of the religious freedom which Hati Scherif had 
promised to them. To which one of the other judges 
replied : £ If the Sultan, Abdul Medschid, would attempt 
to fulfil this promise, he would be driven from his 
throne.' 

" These examples will give a partial conception of the 
shocking corruption which has spread over Palestine. 
One can readily imagine how all the baser passions must 
have unbridled scope under the rule of such an Ungovern- 
ment ; how truth and right are trampled under foot ; 
and how, as a consequence, misery increasingly prevails 
among the poor modern inhabitants of £ the Land of 
Promise.' And, alas ! in other parts of the Turkish Em- 
pire matters are not much better. Here one must think 
of the word of the Lord (Isaiah 1 : 6, 7) : 6 From the sole 
of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in 
it ; but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores ; they 
have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified 
with ointment. Your country is desolate ; your cities 
are burnt with fire ; your land, strangers devour it in 
your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by 
strangers.' " 

Jerusalem inspires one with awe — Nazareth, with ten- 
der sympathy. There the manhood of Christ is continu- 
ally brought to your mind — the wisdom, wrestling, and 
suffering of His mature years. But here you see the 
child and the youth everywhere. Climbing the hills, 
sitting at the fountain, strolling through the streets and 
lanes of Nazareth, every aspect and feature of the dale 
calls to mind the child which Joseph and Mary brought 
hither from Egypt. Matt. 2 : 23. Here he " was sub- 



CHILDHOOD OF JESUS. 415 

ject unto them," and "increased in wisdom and stature 
and in favor with God and man." Luke 2 : 51, 52. 
Children at play suggest the question, whether He like- 
wise thus mingled with the youth of His kind. A few 
boys, kneeling, said their prayers in the church, with 
great apparent devotion, and kept me thinking all the 
while of Jesus, who was taught His prayers by His mother 
in an adjoining chamber. The tender years and con- 
fiding dependence of childhood are calculated to soften 
the most stolid temperament, and shy isolated natures 
are often taken captive by the artless caresses of an 
infant. The hearts of children are more accessible to us 
than those of more advanced life. So Jesus appeared 
to me at Nazareth. In Gethsemane and on Calvary, I 
approached Him with a sense of dread, mingled with 
awe ; here, with a gentle, sympathizing love, like that 
of a younger to an 44 elder brother." As one takes a 
melancholy pleasure to look at a hat or coat of a 
deceased brother, or at something he has made, loved, .or 
handled, so I looked at the moon and the stars from the 
house-top ; at the hills, and the lambs and kids skipping 
over them, and all seemed holy mementoes and memorials 
of the Child-God. 

The Bible says but little of the early history of our 
Saviour at Nazareth. His return " into Galilee, to their 
own city Nazareth," after " they had performed all things 
according to the Law of the Lord," (Luke 2 : 39); His 
visit to Jerusalem when He was twelve years of age, 
from here ; and His coming " from Galilee to Jordan 
unto John to be baptized" (Matt. 3 : 13,) are the only 
allusions to his early home. He dwells here in mysteri- 
ous solitude, as 44 that Holy Thing " which the angel had 
announced, and by his spotless celestial life, grows " in 



416 



FOUNTAIN OF THE VIRGIN. 



favor " with the townspeople and those of the neighbor- 
hood. Joseph and Mary teach Him the law, as all Jew- 
ish parents taught their children, but He soon knew 
more than they. When at twelve years of age He tells 
his mother of being " about His Father's business " she 
understood not the saying. And when afterwards He 
revisits His own city, His divine wisdom excites the envy 
of His fellow townsmen. They could see no reason why 
the son of Mary and Joseph, the hard-working carpenter, 
himself a carpenter, should know any more than they. 
He received and needed the same training and treatment 
as other boys, and they were familiar with "his breth- 
ren " and "his sisters." They remembered the history 
of the dependent helpless boy, now grown into a prophet, 
and exclaimed with amazement : " Whence hath this man 
this wisdom, and these mighty works?" 

On the outskirts of Nazareth is a spring called the 
" Fountain of the Virgin." Hither the Nazarene maidens 
resort for water. Every day during two hours after sun- 
rise, and two hours before sunset, the path emerging out 
of the narrow street leading to this fountain, in a green 
park-like meadow at the north-west of the town, is alive 
with picturesque groups of females, bearing water-pots 
on their heads. Twice I sat me down upon a stone near 
by to study the fashions and forms of the "city of Gali- 
lee," once the house „ of that illustrious "virgin whose 
name was Mary." Sometimes a few dozen would crowd 
around the fountain which discharged its crystal waters 
into a stone trough. There was only room for one pot 
at a time, causing delay to some. As one after another 
stepped out of the little crowd with her burden, others 
would step in without any perceptible impatience ; mean- 
while the waiting ones innocently chattering like friendly 



EASTERN FEMALES. 



417 



-swallows, perhaps over village news or fond lovers, such 
as young Joseph once had been. 

Whoever has been to the East, knows how lorn and 
lonely the world looks where woman's unveiled face is 
wanting. "Walking through the crowded streets of Cairo, 
Alexandria, and Jerusalem, I stole an occasional glimpse 
when their veils were slightly drawn aside during conver- 
sation with a friend whom they chanced to meet. But 
their tatooed half-vacant faces always lacked the charm 
divine. Only female travellers are admitted into harems, 
in which the reputed beauty of the East is caged. Some 
of my female friends brought me reports, stating that 
some of the newly inducted slaves were pretty, and not 
without an expression of innocence and purity ; but the 
treatment which they receive soon robs them of every 
native charm. The Arab women really seem but a 
step above the brute. Their half-veiled faces are most 
repulsive ; and their native uncomeliness is increased by the 
barbarous custom of tattooing the chin and forehead, 
and painting their eyelids black, as Jezebel did, (2 Kings 
9 : 30, which in the original reads, "painted her eyes.") 
So too in Ezekiel 23 : 40. Their garments were un- 
washed, the hair uncombed, and their persons filthy and 
disgusting in the extreme. 

They are treated as an inferior class of beings. In 
Egypt murder committed under palliating circumstances 
can be atoned for by a fine. The fine for killing a woman 
is only half as much as that for killing a man, showing 
that they are estimated at only half the value of the 
stronger sex. An Arab treats his wife with less respect 
than his horse. He can kiss, caress, and embrace him 
with the most passionate fondness, pity and moan for 
him when he is sick, lament and weep over his death, 

2b 



418 



WOMEN IN PALESTINE. 



while his poor wife rarely receives any such marks of 
affection. After he, his children, and his slaves have 
eaten, then she is allowed to enjoy what is left. 

Thus when I reached Nazareth my mind had been 
well prepared to recognize and appreciate something 
better in woman. Here, for once, she takes her place 
in the home-circle, walks forth with unveiled face in open 
day, brings water from the fountain to cook and wash, 
and seems busy and cheerful in her proper sphere. Her 
face even shows how much she is elevated above her other 
sisters in the East. Here she seems another being. She 
has a fair skin, slightly brunette complexion, features 
well rounded, eyes dark, dreamy, and gentle, sometimes 
hazel like the gazelle's, her hair black as a raven, dang- 
ling in long and graceful locks, loosely over her shoul- 
ders, while her whole face glows with a chaste and cheerful 
earnestness. 

Most of them look mysteriously thoughtful and con- 
templative. Whilst watching their water-pots, filling up 
under the flowing fountain, their minds seemed to wander 
elsewhere, as if pondering like their prototype, the Virgin 
Mary, on some great hope in their hearts. Some had a 
string of coins wreathed around the head as ornaments or 
marks of wealth, and a head-cloth, from which hung a 
long scarf about six inches wide, reaching in some cases 
almost to their heels. A heavy scarf or small shawl of 
rich damask, green or red, was folded somewhat care- 
fully round the waist, and their feet thrust in loose slip- 
pers, with another string of coins encircling the ankles. 
Their whole dress was the most tidy and picturesque of 
any I have seen in the East. They evidently never 
forgot their toilette before they came forth for water ; 
and yet they seemed to be wholly ignorant of their 
charms. 



THOUGHTS ON THE VIRGIN. 



419 



Havino- had to see so much of the dark side in the 
character and position of woman in the East in my pre- 
vious journey, may partly account for this favorable im- 
pression; but I must be pardoned for saying that I have 
never in any land or city looked on the like of these 
Nazarene maidens. Many pleasant thoughts, too, I had 
while observing them at their cheerful tasks. Methought 
the Virgin must have looked like this or that one ; or 
perhaps possessed in charming combination the blended 
graces of all. Possibly, very probably, like these she 
used to come out to this fountain for water, along with 
others of her age, who little dreamed that she was to be- 
come the Mother of our Lord, whom all generations 
should call blessed. And then afterward she came with 
her water-pot, and a little thoughtful boy running by her 
side, plucking her garment and calling her "mother," 
watching the fountain as it poured out with ceaseless 
flow, wondering where it all came from ; perhaps still un- 
conscious that He was the fountain opened in the house 
of David for the salvation of perishing millions. Mary's 
face too must have looked thoughtful and half-sad, as she 
pondered over the mysterious incidents connected with 
her child, as still she looks in Raphael's great painting 
at Dresden. Every spot around the fountain was familiar 
to her eyes ; and with these grounds and groves her 
"wonderful" son became equally familiar. 

Leaving Nazareth the next morning, we rode out by 
the fountain, where we again met a busy group filling 
their water-pots, doubtless just such pots as were used at 
the wedding of Cana, not far from here. I handed them 
my gutta-percha pocket-cup, to get a last draught of its 
pure water, which they passed through the little crowd, 
and returned it with as much frankness and graceful 



420 



ADIEU TO NAZAEETH. 



courtesy, as if they had been educated in Europe or 
America. As we were turning away from them I asked 
Ahmed, " Why are these maidens of Nazareth so much 
prettier than your women in Egypt?" He replied some- 
what earnestly, and as if surprised at my ignorance : 
; ' don't you know that, my master? This was the 
home of the Virgin Mary." Moslem, thou hast truly 
spoken, I thought to myself. An unconscious compliment 
to the influence of Christianity in the elevation of woman. 
Erom all that I have heard and seen in the East, I am 
more convinced than ever that no religion can so elevate 
and bless woman as Christianity. 

After reaching the top of the hill which was to hide 
this enchanting dale forever from our eyes, we turned 
our horses and took a last solemn view of this little 
mountain basin, in whose protecting embrace the Re- 
deemer of the world was nursed and trained, and then 
rode off" toward Mount Tabor. Our path led over hills 
and across grassy glens, without a village or inhabitant. 
About six miles from Nazareth we reached the foot of 
Tabor. Trees are scattered over the slopes circling its 
base, and beyond these its ascent is covered with a green 
sward to the top. It is most a singular, isolated, oblong- 
mountain, rising alone out of the plain of Jezreel, con- 
nected with the mountain range of Galilee by a narrow 
neck of rising ground. Its height is about 1800 feet 
above the Mediterranean, and 700 above Nazareth. Our 
horses labored for about an hour up the winding path. 
The area of the top is about a mile in diameter. Over 
this is strewn a confused mass of ruins, of churches, con- 
vents, and dwellings of different periods of the world. 
Trees, thistles, and tall rank grass, with variegated flow- 
ers, grew out from among the loose stones and crumbling 
walls. 



TABOR. 



421 



CHAPTER XIX. 

% into fmm %i\tn — %\t Bin 0f fibma*. 

What a view from here ! Only several miles south 
of us, at the foot of little Hermon, lay the small village 
of Endor, where the witch raised Samuel for Saul. West 
of it is the "city called Nain," at whose gate Christ 
raised a widow's only son, — now a small Arab village. 
This whole charming plain of Jezreel spread out before 
us like a panorama, with its " cities " dwindled down to 
Arab hamlets, its grass, grain, and flowers blending into 
a sea of soft and slightly varying colors, here and there 
dotted with herds and herdsmen reduced to a mere speck, 
— the whole a paradise of spontaneous growth, now 
populated with plundering Arabs. 

"Where every prospect pleases, 
And only man is vile. 

Immediately below us, at the foot of Tabor, a tribe of 
3000 Bedouin warriors were encamped. By means of a 
spy-glass, I had a distinct view of this army of modern 
Amalekites. Their noble, neighing war -steeds were 
picketed around the long, black tents, with the spear of 
his master stuck in the ground near each one. A few 
cattle and camels were grazing around the tents. They 
pretended to prepare for battle with another tribe, but 
36 



422 



RAVAGES OF THE ARABS. 



their real mission was to plunder the fields of Galilee. 
The harvest is beginning to ripen, and these Ishmaelites 
have come from the Arabian Desert to rob the poor 
fellahins of their crops. These are the plundering foes 
of Palestine, — the terror of the ancient Hebrews, as well 
as the scourge of its present inhabitants — who annually 
repeat their foraging invasions in some form or other. 
The Arab peasants scratch up the rich loamy soil of the 
valleys, and sow their seed ; but when their much-needed 
crops ripen, the bands of these sons of Ishmael and 
Amalek stream up from the wilderness, like swarms of 
locusts, destroy their harvests, and drive off their herds 
and flocks. Thus the farming tribes of Palestine are 
often brought to the verge of starvation. This accounts 
for the fact, that so large a part of this beautiful and 
fruitful country lies unimproved and uncultivated. It is 
the old feud between Ishmael and Isaac — between Jacob 
and Esau, which has blighted the Land of Promise for 
thirty centuries. 

So the land was scourged in the days of Gideon. 
" Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made 
them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves and 
strongholds," in which to hide their grain and seek 
shelter. "And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the 
Midianites .came up, and the Amalekites, and the chil- 
dren of the East, even they came up against them, and 
destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto 
Gaza ; and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep 
nor ox nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and 
their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; 
for both they and their camels were without number ; 
and they entered into the land to destroy it." Judges 6. 
The two chiefs or Sheikhs of those Bedouin warriors, 



THE MIDIANITE8 AND AMALEKITES. 423 

" Zeba and Zalmunna," kings of Midian, have their strik- 
ing counterparts in modern Bedouin chiefs. They were 
arrayed in scarlet or purple mantles, riding camels, with 
chains about their necks. Judges 8 : 21-26. 

These " Miclianites, and Amalekites, and the children 
of the East," were gathered together, and went over and 
pitched their tents in the Valley of Jezreel. The poor 
Israelites were in great terror ; for they had neither army 
nor leader. The Jews fled to the mountains and upland val- 
leys, and tried to hide their harvests. Gideon, a valiant 
son of Manasseh, threshed his father's wheat by stealth, 
at his wine-press, where the angel of the Lord appeared, 
and called him "a mighty man of valor." Then he 
"sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also 
was gathered after him ; and he sent messengers unto 
Asher, and unto Zebulon, and unto Naphtali, and they 
came up to meet him." Judges 6 : 33-35. He and his 
men were encamped over there on Mount Gilboa, near a 
spring of water; and down toward the Jordan, theMidian- 
ite multitude spread over the green earth. Gideon had 
collected an army of thirty-two thousand men ; but, that 
the power of God might be more signally shown, this 
number is reduced to three hundred. One night, he 
takes, a servant with him, and comes down into the plain, 
where the enemy "lay along in the valley, like grass- 
hoppers for multitude, and their camels were without 
number, as the sand by the sea-side," at the western end 
of Jezreel. The thousands of Bedouins were stretched 
on the earth, wrapped in unconscious slumbers, sweetened 
by the weariness of their plunders on the previous day. 
As Gideon softly treads along the edge of the encamp- 
ment, one of the Midianites is startled from his sleep by 
a singular dream, which he at once relates to a companion 



424 



THE PHILISTINES. 



near him, in the hearing of Gideon ; in this he at once 
discerns a favorable divine omen. He bounds off to Gil- 
boa, rallies his three hundred select followers, who, with 
blazing torches, filling the dark air with lights of lurid 
glare, rushed down upon their slumbering foes. The 
trumpets were blown, and the shout of Israel, terrible 
"as the shout of a king," reverberated over the plain, 
in the dead hush of midnight. Confusion and a pande- 
monial noise ensued, so peculiar to the Arab race, "and 
the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even 
throughout all the host." They fled; and Gideon pur- 
sued them across the Jordan, far into their own desert, 
and destroyed the army, with the two chiefs, Zeba and 
Zalmunna. It was a grand victory, long after sung by 
psalmists and prophets in strains of sweetest poetry. 
Judges 6 and 7. 

The Philistines had been twice defeated in the moun- 
tains of Judea. The third time, they came up along the 
sea-shore, and lured the army of Saul out of their moun- 
tain passes into "the valley of Jezreel." " The Philistines 
gathered together all their armies to Aphek ; and the 
Israelites pitched by a fountain, which is in Jezreel." 
1 Sam. 29 : 1. About thirty minutes east of the present 
village of Jezreel there still is a large fountain, emptying 
into a basin, — with water of crystal clearness — forty 
or fifty feet in diameter, containing a large number of 
small fishes. As water was necessary for " a garden of 
herbs," and this being the only never-failing fountain in 
the neighborhood, perhaps the vineyard which Ahab vio- 
lently wrested from good Naboth was near here ; for it 
was " hard by the palace of Ahab, King of Samaria." 
1 Kings 21 : 1. 

This view from Tabor embraces the whole arena of 



THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 425 

battle. On a clear hazeless day, even the fountain of 
JezreeL is seen, dazzling in the sun. From the slopes 
of Gilboa, Saul had a distant view of all the Philistine 
host encamped around Shunem, and when he saw them 
" he was afraid and his heart greatly trembled." Samuel 
had died, and Israel had no other Judge or prophet to 
consult. Saul inquired of the Lord, but received no 
answer on account of his sins. In Eastern countries 
there were then, as there still are, many superstitious 
people who consulted witches, persons who professed to 
have intercourse with the spirit world, to obtain a know- 
ledge of future events. Saul thought he had destroyed 
or banished all these, according to the law of Moses. 
Deut. 18 : 10. To this day a number of caves remain in 
the rocks of the little Hermon, around Endor. In one 
of these a witch who had escaped had her concealed 
abode. In his extremity he inquired for " a woman that 
hath a familiar spirit," and his servants referred him to 
the witch of Endor. A low mountain ridge, one of the 
eastern roots of Hermon, hid it from the view of Saul, 
who was some five or six miles off. In coming here he 
must pass the Philistines. He lays aside his royal robe 
and puts on common clothing, so that the witch and his 
enemies should not recognize him ; then mounts his 
beast, and with two men, under the cover of night crosses 
the ridge not far from the Philistine encampment, and 
seeks an interview with this woman in the cave. The 
result so disheartened him, "that there was no strength 
in him." The different localities, Shunem, Endor and 
Gilboa, all but the first seen from Tabor, so distinctly 
point out the several parts of this thrilling drama in 
Hebrew history, that one almost fancies to see the reality 
again transpiring before him. 1 Sam. 28. 
36 * 



426 



COOKING IN THE EAST. 



Witch as she was, the woman possessed the virtue of 
primitive hospitality. The narrative gives us an idea of 
the culinary skill in the Orient. She had a fat calf in 
her cave, which she speedily killed, and baked unleavened 
bread. No time to raise the dough here. The Arabs 
are expert bakers. A very few moments will suffice to 
mix a few handsful of unbolted wheat or barley with 
water, work it into a large flat cake and bake it on coal 
ashes. But to kill a calf and prepare it for Saul, when 
their interview must already have been protracted till 
past midnight, cannot be so easily done acccording to 
established rules of killing and cooking. In Eastern 
countries the people do not waste so much precious time 
to gratify the physical man, as in those of the West. I 
was often surprised to see with what little time and cere- 
mony our Mohammed and the Bedouins would despatch 
and cook a sheep. In Cincinnati, we are told, they drive 
hogs in at one end of a narrow entry, and they come out 
at the other in the form of hogsheads of lard, sausages, 
bacon, and ham. But these Bedouins, without slaughter 
houses and butchering apparatus, are not a whit behind 
the most skillful American pork establishments. A calf 
or sheep is driven into the tent, and in a time incredibly 
short, it turns up on a large tray in the form of stewed 
veal or mutton, buried in half a bushel of cracked wheat, 
or boiled rice. This art was equally understood in Old 
Testament times. When Abraham entertained his three 
angel visitors, he " ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf 
tender and good," and told Sarah meanwhile^ " quickly 
make ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and 
make cakes upon the hearth." The calf was handed to 
a young man " who hasted to dress it." Gen. 18 : 1-7. 
While the angelic guest of Gideon was waiting " under 



DEATH OF SAUL AND JONATHAN". 427 



the oak," he went "and made ready a kid, and unleav- 
ened cakes of an ephah of flour : the flesh he put in a 
basket, and he put the broth in a pot and brought it out 
unto hhn under the oak." Judges 6 : 19. In like manner 
the witch of Endor, when the night had already been far 
spent, and her royal guest seemed impatient to hurry to 
the field of battle, " hasted and killed it, and took flour 
and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof." 
1 Sam. 28 : 24. 

The next day came the battle. Israel fled before the 
Philistines up to the heights of Gilboa, where a large 
part of them were slain. From where we stand a spec- 
tator, with the aid of a spy-glass, could have seen the 
whole sad tragedy. Saul and Jonathan fell. A roving 
Amalekite, like his modern Bedouin countrymen, who 
wander and prowl over Gilboa, chanced to see the dying- 
king, and at his own request, put an end to his sufferings, 
and brought his crown and bracelet to David. Then the 
royal singer bewailed the death of Saul and Jonathan in 
that plaintive dirge, which will continue to evoke soothing 
tears from bereaved hearts so long as the Bible will be 
read by a mourning mortal. 

"The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: 
How are the mighty fallen ! 

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, 
And in their death they were not divided: 

They were swifter than eagles, 

They were stronger than lions. 

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle ! 
Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. 



428 



BETH-SHAN 



— JABESH-GILEAD. 



I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: 
Very pleasant hast thou been unto me : 

Thy love to me was wonderful, 

Passing the love of women." 

2 Sam. 1. 

On a spur of Mount Gilboa, overlooking tbe Jordan 
and the valley of Jezreel, is the modern village of Beisan, 
once the city of Beth-shan. 1 Sam. 31 : 10. It was a 
stronghold of the Canaanites, which the Israelites had 
never yet taken. Hither the triumphant Philistines 
brought the dismembered body of Saul. They hung him 
and his three sons to the city wall, and dedicated his 
armor to the Canaanite idol Astarte, in whose temple 
they placed it. 

On the hills of Gilead, beyond the Jordan, was Jabesh- 
Gilead, a town which Saul had once delivered out of the 
hands of the Ammonites. 1 Sam. 11 : 1-11. The tidings 
of their deliverer's death filled them with grief. Then 
" arose all the valiant men [of Jab esh- Gilead]. and took 
away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and 
brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under 
the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days." 1 Chron. 
10 : 12. There they remained until David removed them 
to the " country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the Sepulchre 
of Kish," Saul's father. 2 Sam. 21 : 12-15. 

For twenty years Jabin King of Canaan had "mightily 
oppressed the children of Israel." He was a powerful 
monarch, having "nine hundred chariots of iron." At 
length he sent his general, Sisera, completely to subjugate 
Israel, who brought his chariots and warriors into this 
plain right below us, between Tabor and Hermon, several 
miles in width. It was just such an encampment as that 
of the 3000 Bedouins we see here now, only much 



OVERTHROW OF SISERA. 429 

larger. From remote antiquity the top of Mount Tabor 
was used as a stronghold. The Romans built castles on 
it, surrounded by walls, whose ruins are still here. It 
was a position hard to take, which, like the pass of Ther- 
mopylse, enabled a small army to worry and discomfit a 
host of assailants. Deborah and Barak quickly gathered 
10,000 men from the two nearest tribes, Zebulon and 
Naphtali, and pitched on Tabor. When Sisera would 
not venture to storm the top, the prophetess said to 
Barak, " Up ; for this is the day in which the Lord hath 
delivered Sisera into thine hand." "So Barak went 
down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after 
him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his 
chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sw r ord, 
before Barak." Judges 4. It must have been in winter 
or early spring, when the Kishon here was very high ; 
for " it swept them away, that ancient river, the river 
Kishon." The slaughter was so great that this stream 
must have run red with blood to the sea. Josephus 
says, that just then a great hail-storm arose and the sleet 
blew over the plain, driving full into the faces of the 
Canaanites, and so blinded their eyes that their arrows 
and slings were of no use to them. The river suddenly 
rose from the rain, overflowed its bed, dashed through 
the army of Sisera, confused the horses and chariots, and 
swept off the living and the dead. In a highland district 
of Kadesh a tribe of Bedouin Kenites, who Sisera thought 
were friendly to him, had pitched their black tents. 
Leaping from his chariot, he " fled away on his feet to 
the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite." While 
asleep in her tent, Jael drove a nail into his temples. 

The last Jewish war in the plain of Jezreel was that 
in which good King Josiah was slain. Pharaoh-Necho, 



430 



A BLOOD-STAINED VALLEY. 



King of Egypt, went up to the river Euphrates, against 
the King of Assyria. Passing through the Valley of 
Megiddo (Jezreel), Josiah came out to fight with him, 
where the archers shot at him, and he was sore wounded. 
His servants put him in his second chariot, and brought 
him to Jerusalem, where he died, and was buried in one 
of the sepulchres of his fathers. " And Jeremiah lamented 
for Josiah ; and all the singing men and singing women 
speak of Josiah in their lamentations to this day." 
2 Chron. 35. 

Since then, this lovely plain has repeatedly been crim- 
soned with human blood. During the Roman Empire, 
Gabinus and Vespasian fought fiercely here with the 
Jews. After them came the sanguinary battles between 
Saladin and the Crusaders; then Bonaparte slew 25.000 
Turks, and in 1832 many thousand Egyptians fell here 
in battle. Truly, a field of blood ! 

Such are some of the stirring events which have trans- 
pired in this fairest of valleys. The wild exuberance 
of its neglected vegetation shows what it might be made 
by labor and care. It was the portion of Issachar, 
(Joshua 19 : 18,) lying within this mountain trough: 
" Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two 
burdens [mountains]." Away from the laborious, hardy 
mountain region of his brethren, he lived here in ease, 
depending for his bread upon the spontaneous produc- 
tiveness of the soil, which begot in him an effeminate and 
servile spirit. "And he saw that rest was good, and the 
land that it was pleasant ; and bowed his shoulder to 
bear, and became a servant unto tribute." Gen. 49 : 14, 
15. When David ascended the throne, Issachar and the 
two neighboring tribes, Zebulon and Naphtali, presented 
him with gifts, indicating the comparative wealth and 



ALLOTMENT TO THE TRIBES. 



431 



productiveness of Jezreel. " They brought bread on 
asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen ; and 
meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and 
wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly." 1 Chron. 
12 : 40. 

It is remarkable, what a knowledge of the geography 
of Palestine both Jacob and Moses evinced in blessing 
the tribes. Gen. 49: Deut. 33. Jacob was familiar with 
many parts of the country ; but Moses had never set his 
foot on its sacred soil. Judah's portion was in Judea, 
abounding with grapes and grass. And hence he should 
"wash his garments in wine," and his teeth should be 
" white with milk," like that flowing from the full-uddered 
herds grazing on his pastoral hills. " Zebulon shall dwell 
at the haven of the sea" (of Galilee), "an haven for 
ships." Asher's portion extended along the coast of 
Tyre and Sidon, whose merchants were princes, and which 

furnished royal robes to the rulers of the earth "he 

shall yield royal dainties." Naphtali, on the grassy 
hills of Jordan, "is as a hind [gazelle] let loose." Joseph 
(half the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 17 : 5-11), in the 
charming valley around his father's well, and his own 
grave, shall be favored with 

"Blessings of heaven above, 
Blessings of the deep [from Jacob's well] that lieth under, 
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb." 

The hills of Gerizim and Ebal yielded him grass for his 
flocks, and the sun and moon evoked life out of the plain. 

"And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, 
And for the precious things put forth by the moon, 
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, 
And for the precious things of the lasting llills/ , 



432 



THE HILLS OF BASHAN. 



Benjamin possessed part of the highlands of Judea around 
Jerusalem, including the city itself, to the "Valley of Hin- 
nom, on the west of it. 

" The beloved of tha Lord shall dwell in safety by him; 
And the Lord shall cover him all the day long, 
And he [the Lord] shall dwell between his shoulders." 

The " shoulders" of Benjamin here are Mount Zion and the 
Mount of Olives ; and between these is Moriah, on which 
the temple was built, — God's favorite dwelling-place. 

Both the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee were 
in sight. Deep down to the east and south the Jordan 
wound its way along its crooked mountain channel, with 
green hills and dells rising from its banks. The green 
hills of Bashan, the possessions of Manasseh, rose and 
rolled eastward — noble hills, covered with a grassy carpet, 
on which all manner of cattle still find pasture. Deut. 4 : 
43 ; Joshua 20 : 8 ; 21 : 27. Strong Bedouin tribes in- 
habit these mountains, rich in cattle, which graze in vast 
herds from base to summit — large oxen and powerful, 
like the enemies of David. Psalm 22 : 12. Its rich 
pastures are often alluded to by the prophets. In pre- 
dicting Israel's future prosperity, he " shall feed on 
Carmel and Bashan." Jer. 50 : 19. Thus looked these 
hills when Ezekiel wrote of the "fatlings of Bashan" 
(Ezekiel 39 : 18) ; when Amos, the herdman of Tekoa, 
wrote of " the kine of Bashan " (Amos 4:1); and when 
Micah besought God to feed his people "in Bashan" 
(Micah 7 : 14). Among the grassy glades and glens of 
Bashan are a vast number of deserted towns and cities, 
adorned with all the beauties of Grecian and Roman art, 
whose walls still rise in mute and lonely majesty, with 



MOUNT TABOR. 



433 



no inhabitant but the wolf and the hyena. Many of 
these heaps of ruins evidently date beyond the period of 
the Roman Empire, and point to some ancient power- 
ful people, of whose history everything save these speech- 
less remains has been lost. Seen from Tabor, Bashan 
just seems such a land as sacred poetry would delight to 
dwell on — a land of moors and meadows, of running 
brooks and bleating herds, of lowlands and uplands, of 
hill and heath, — all combining qualities which led Ma- 
nasseh to prefer it to Canaan itself. This region beyond 
the Jordan belonged to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe 
of Manasseh. When Moses had brought the children of 
Israel into the country beyond Jordan, Reuben and Gad 
fell in love with this district. And, having " a very 
great multitude of cattle," they asked Moses and Eleazar 
the Priest for permission to choose this for their possession, 
saying, it "is a land for cattle, and thy servants have 
cattle ; wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy 
sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a pos- 
session, and bring us not over Jordan." Num. 32 : 1-5. 
The half -tribe of Manasseh received for their portion these 
hills of Gilead and Bashan. Joshua 13 : 30 ; 17 : 1. 

Tabor has for fifteen hundred years been regarded as 
the "high mountain" on which our Saviour was trans- 
figured. Matt. 17. Luke 9. Br. Robinson has shaken the 
faith of some in its identity, but in spite of his plausible 
arguments, I must still cling to Tabor as the Mount of 
Transfiguration, "the holy mount" to which Peter 
alludes. 2 Peter 1 : 18. It is said that our Lord had 
just been at Cesarea Philippi, (Matt. 16.) and that he 
could not have come that distance to Tabor in so short a 
time. But why not ? "After six days " the transfigura- 
tion occurred, so that he would at least have had so 
3^ 2 c 



434 



ROBINSON'S DOUBTS. 



many days to come hither. Now we made the journey 
from Tabor to Cesarea Philippi in about two days and 
three quarters. True, we travelled on horseback, but 
only rode at a walk, no faster than an ordinary footman 
could travel. 

It is furthermore said that at the time of the Trans- 
figuration, a fortified town crowned the top of Tabor, 
which would not render it a likely place for our Saviour 
to select for such a solemn transaction. There was a 
town on the top 218 years before Christ. History says 
nothing whether it existed at the time of Christ. Jose- 
phus, who lived during the middle and latter half of the 
first century, speaks of a battle fought here between the 
Romans and the Jews, in which ten thousand persons 
were slain. And afterward he himself caused Mount 
Tabor to be fortified. He caused the top to be enclosed 
with a wall in forty days, bringing the water and ma- 
terials for it from below, since the persons living on it 
had nothing but rain-water. This much we have of this 
city on Tabor, and nothing more. Robinson says, there 
"appears" to have been a city there. For any argu- 
ment that history or conjecture furnishes, the top of 
Tabor may have been strewn with ruins during the life 
of our Saviour, just as it now is. But even if it could be 
proven that a town existed there, or that a few of the 
buildings were inhabited, could not the Transfiguration 
have happened on the sloping shaded mountain side, on 
whose lofty glades he could have found a place sufficiently 
retired? Whatever can be said against Tabor, I feel 
assured that more can be said against Robinson's new 
site of the Transfiguration in the neighborhood of Cesarea 
Philippi. 

Although Tabor is not named in the New Testament, 



TABOR AND HER M ON. 



435 



our L^rd must have been familiar with it. But five miles 
from Nazareth, may he not often have ascended it during 
his sojourn there ? for he was fond of mountains. About 
eight or ten miles from the sea of Galilee, Capernaum 
and Bethsaida, where our Lord lived and taught for three 
years, and along a thoroughfare of travel between the 
northern commercial centre of Galilee, and Samaria, and 
Judea, his eyes became familiar with every feature of 
Tabor as he passed and repassed it. 

Then too it possesses a special fitness for such a scene. 
On account of its extraordinary beauty, the Psalmist 
alludes to it, in connection with Hermon, as the two 
representatives of all the mountains of Palestine. " Tabor 
and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name." Psalm 89 : 12. 
Why only these two from all the other imposing and rare 
mountains ? Hermon is the highest and Tabor the most 
graceful of all the mountains in this land of lovely moun- 
tains. Herder, in his " Geist der Hebraischen Poesie," 
says that in Deut. 33 : 19, Tabor is intended when it is 
said that Issachar and Zebulon " shall call the people 
unto the mountain ; there they shall offer sacrifices of 
righteousness." An ancient commentator says on this 
passage, that it is the mountain on which the Temple 
ought of right to have been built, had not revelation ex- 
pressly ordered it to be built on Mount Moriah. As it 
was customary for idolaters to worship in high places, 
the priests led the people astray on this high place, and 
thus "spread a net upon Tabor." Hosea 5 : 1. With 
Carmel, Gilboa, Bashan and the grand Hermon looming 
up pretentiously in the distance, and the little Hermon 
as its sentinel, it rises out of this grassy flowery plain in 
solitary grandeur, a mount of matchless beauty, and a fit 



436 



ROBINSON'S DOUBTS. 



stage for heaven and earth, the natural and spirit world, 
to hold an interview. 

Thomson, who has spent twenty-five years in Beirut, 
and who has often visited Tabor, says in his excellent 
work, entitled "The Land and the Book:" " No more 
noble or appropriate theatre for such a glorious manifes- 
tation, could be found or desired. Nor does the fact that 
there may have been a village on the top at that time, 
present any difficulty. There are many secluded and 
densely-wooded terraces on the north and north-east 
sides, admirably adapted to the scenes of the Transfigura- 
tion. I have been delighted to wander through some of 
them, and certainly regretted that my early faith in this 
site had been disturbed by prying critics ; and, after 
reading all that they have advanced against the current 
tradition, I am not fully convinced." 

Though doubting, he still clings to Tabor. Since I 
have seen it, and seen also the bleak mountains around 
Cesarea Philippi, it has fixed its image and history in my 
heart and mind, and in spite of all that has been said to 
the contrary, I can never think of the Transfiguration 
without locating it on this beautiful mountain. Here, in 
sight of Pisgah and Carmel, and in the presence of his 
three favorite disciples, Moses and Elias had that solemn 
interview with Christ, and " spake to him " of his decease 
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem, while the 
Saviour's face and raiment were transfused with heavenly 
light and lustre. Tradition has located the precise spot 
of the manifestation in a little subterranean cave on the 
top, which has been converted into a chapel with an altar. 
What a stage from which to look down upon a bloody 
past, with the Prince of Peace at one's side ! Moments 
seemed like months, as act after act passed before my 



A RUINED KHAN. 



43T 



view. Blood, blood, everywhere. Blood on Carmel and 
at Kishon ; on Gilboa and around this lonely Tabor. 
All around me below, 

' J I heard the ceaseless jar, 
The rattling wagons, and the wheels of -war." 

But on the top was an outpost on the border of two 
worlds, where angels and men, apostles in the flesh, and 
prophets in heaven met half way, to have an interview 
with the Messiah. Reclining on the soft green sward 
under the cooling shade of Tabor's top, after a weary 
pilgrimage, with the memory of assailing robbers and a 
shadeless waterless desert still fresh in his mind, one 
feels in a fit mood to say with Peter, " Lord, it is good to 
be here." 

We descended the mountain toward the north, through 
a forest of tall stately oaks, and then proceeded on our 
way to Tiberias. Northward from Tabor the plain of 
Jezreel becomes more undulating, and even hilly. We 
rode by an old khan, a massive ruin with crumbling 
walls, arches, gates and towers. In the absence of any 
towns along the road here, this was built to aiford shelter 
to travellers. On an opposite hill were the ruins of what 
must once have been a strong castle. 

For awhile we rode, single file, along a path which 
dwindled away until it was almost lost in the wheat-fields. 
Thinking that we had wandered from the regular path, 
Ahmed asked the way of an Arab woman we chanced to 
meet, dressed in the garb of peasants and poor women — 
blue cotton steeped in dirt. She said we were wrong, 
and sent us over neighboring hills, through pathless 
wheat-fields, over rocks and ravines. Finally we wan- 
dered into a field of thistles, as thick and tall as hemp. 
37 * 



438 



THE SEA OF GALILEE. 



Sailing on a sea of thorns is not the most pleasant 
voyage. Still onward we tried to urge our horses, biting 
the lips as the prickly waves swept around us with sting- 
ing effect. The end not being in view, we called upon 
Ahmed to pilot us back out of this thorny dilemma. 
The poor fellow wheeled his horse around to return, but 
seemed greatly mortified that an Arab woman should 
thus send him, an experienced dragoman, adrift on such 
a sea of trouble, and that too where there was no chance 
to ask anybody else. Riding in advance of us, he kept 
muttering to himself — I do not know, whether prayers 
to Allah for deliverance, or curses upon the woman who 
had misled us. Finally he set to boxing his ears, hitting 
earnest cracks at his head, until I felt alarmed that the 
man was going crazy. He imputed all our trouble to the 
woman, and applied epithets to her which were anything 
but complimentary. Finally, after two hours wandering 
not knowing whither, we reached the top of the hills 
which girt the Sea of Galilee. 

But what a scene meets us here ! Deep down in this 
mountain enclosure lay the crystal lake,*in a kettle, like 
a volcanic crater, a thousand feet below the level of the 
country. Hitherto we have passed through limestone 
regions, but from this northward one meets with volcanic 
formations. From these hills outward spreads a rolling 
table-land. To our left, the long ridge of the hills of 
Galilee on the west terminates northward in a square- 
shaped hill with two tops. At its base is the small vil- 
lage of Hattin, from which the hill is called " the Horns 
of Hattin," sometimes also the Mount of the Beatitudes. 
On one side it touches the fruitful plain of Genessaret. 
It is not a cliffy hill, but slopes gently upwards toward 
its grassy oval tops. On one of these our Saviour was r 



SALADIN AND THE CRUSADERS. 



439 



with his disciples, after he had been teaching and preach- 
ing in Galilee, " healing all manner of sickness, and all 
manner of disease among the people." Matt. 4 : 23. 
Seeing the multitude which had followed him, he came 
down from the top to the grassy platform, and stood in 
the plain. This explains the seeming contradiction be- 
tween Matthew and Luke ; one saying that " he went up 
into a mountain," and the other that "he came down 
in the plain." Both are true ; since the plain is on the 
mountain, from which the two horns rise still higher. 
There, in the presence of " his disciples and a great mul- 
titude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and 
from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear 
him, and be healed of their diseases," he preached that 
Sermon of sermons, called the Sermon on the Mount. 
Matt. 5, 6, 7 ; Luke 6 : 17-49. At least such is the tra- 
dition ; and, whether that sermon was preached entire 
in its present form or not, I can conceive of no more 
suitable pulpit and temple for the Divine Preacher and 
his audience. 

Around this mount the Crusaders fought their last 
battle. On the fifth of July, 1187, the army of Saladin 
was encamped around the base of the hill ; the Crusaders 
were encamped on the long ridge. The attack was 
made — Saladin stormed the Christian intrenchments, 
routed his enemies, and hacked them to pieces ; and since 
then Moslems have been the lords of Palestine. 

It was going toward the middle of the afternoon as we 
leisurely wound our way down the rolling hill-side. The 
sun shone with unwonted heat, which the gleaming lake 
in the distance seemed to reflect and intensify. A few 
Arab women, with skins of water on donkeys, relieved 
our burning thirst ; for our water had become unfit to 



440 



THE SEA OF TIBERIAS. 



drink. What a scene and taste to suck water from 
a skin, through the end of a goat-leg, with the wrong 
side out, glistening in the sun, like a black hog with the 
bristles shaven off and the lard oozing through every 
pore, — and the inside lined with the original hair, which 
may mingle with the potion he drinks ! May all be ; 
but necessity knows no law — and just then and there 
the hair and greasy outside, and the goat-leg, at which 
many a son and daughter of Ishmael had sucked and 
slaked their thirst before, gave me little trouble. The 
kindness of the swarthy women, in giving the stranger 
drink, led my thoughts away from the skin to Rebekah 
and Eliezer at the well in Mesopotamia. Gen. 24. 

We dismounted immediately below the town of Tibe- 
rias, on the sea-shore, where our muleteers had already 
raised the tents, and tethered the baggage horses around 
them. Soon Mohammed sent Firage with a cup of coffee, 
our invariable beverage as soon as we encamp ; and then 
we strolled along the shore — gathered pebbles and little 
black sea-shells, as mementoes of our visit. But how 
different the Sea of Galilee now from what it was when 
Jesus sailed on it, and Peter, James, John and Andrew 
mended their nets along the coast and caught its fish ! 
Then a number of large cities graced its banks — Mag- 
dala, Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin — now there is 
none but this miserable half-Jewish town of Tiberias. 
Then it was white with the sails of trading ships ; now 
not a sail streams over its waters. No bark or boat is 
seen. The last boat that was borne on its bosom Lieu- 
tenant Lynch took with him down the Jordan rapids to 
the Dead Sea. Then it was alive with fishermen, "mend- 
ing their nets " along the shore and on board their ships ; 
drawing up quantities of fishes, so heavy that the nets 



DESCRIPTION OF THE LAKE. 441 

were torn in twain. Now nought but occasional hooks 
are cast in from the shore by the few who pay the Govern- 
ment for this privilege. But the sea is all alive with fish. 
They floated familiarly around me while bathing, and 
leaped above the water in all directions. And most 
excellent diet they furnish. We had them on our table, 
such as Ahmed bought from one of the few fishermen 
still here ; just such as " the two fishes" and " the few 
little fishes" with which Jesus fed the multitudes, all 
caught in this same sea. 

The sea of Galilee is about fourteen miles long, and in 
its broadest parts seven miles wide. It is simply an ex- 
pansion of the Jordan into a large basin. The river 
empties into it at the northern and emerges from it at 
the southern end. According to some authorities it lies 
six hundred feet lower than the Mediterranean. It is 
edged around by mountains which keep a little aloof from 
the sea, leaving a narrow beach clear around its edge. 
These enable you to take in its whole extent with one 
view. And where the atmosphere is so clear as here in 
the East, without haze or moisture, the opposite shores 
seem to be so near each other, that its reputed size seems 
almost incredible. All the hills around it are strewn 
with more or less grass, which seen in the distance blends 
with the bleaker colors of half-concealed earth and rocks, 
with the most pleasant effect. And then when the hills 
cast their long deep shadows across the sea while the 
sun-light still lingers on the eastern heights, they looked as 
if the touch of a magic pencil had suddenly swept celestial 
colors over their canvas. Higher and higher rose the 
shadow after the departing sun toward the hill-tops. 
But for a while even the shades of night were tinged with 
twilight hues, and the half-hid hills still shone with soft 



442 



THE UNBELIEVING CITIES. 



rose-colors. Then came night, and the stars — the starry 
heavens all in the sea, reflected on its spotless bosom. 
Coleridge says : "It is only by celestial observations that 
terrestrial charts can be constructed." So by the Incar- 
nation of Christ the heavenly is mirrored in the earthly, 
the Divine in the Human. The starry heavens reflected 
on the glassy surface of the lake — it was an image of 
the believing human heart. 

Such are the natural features of the most sacred sheet 
of water on the face of the globe. No place can be found 
all the world over, which has been the theatre of so many 
miraculous and Divine manifestations as this. While 
Nazareth was the home of our Saviour's childhood and 
youth, this region was the home of his manhood and 
miracles. Here were Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caper- 
naum, in which for three years "most of his mighty works 
were done ;" and because of their failing to improve them 
it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, and the 
land of Sodom in the day of Judgment than for these 
cities. Matt. 11 : 20-24. And how literally this has 
been fulfilled ! The places of Tyre and 'Sidon are still 
known and seen, but no one can tell where stood these 
woe-afflicted cities. Some imagine to have found Caper- 
naum in a few crumbling walls, but thus far little is 
known concerning any of them beyond conjecture. Thus 
the doomed cities have not only perished, but their places 
have been lost and forgotten. 

" The sea of Galilee " is never mentioned in the Old 
Testament, but reference is repeatedly made to it as " the 
sea of Chinneroth," "the sea of Cinneroth," and "the 
sea of Chinnereth," all meaning the same sea. Numbers 
34 : 11 ; Joshua 12:3; and 13 : 27. Sometimes these 
names occur without being connected with the sea, when 



ANCIENT PROSPERITY. 



443 



they designate either a town on its banks, or the district 
of country around it. Joshua 19 : 35. It was made a 
boundary mark in the distribution of Canaan among the 
northern tribes, (Deut. 3 : 17), and one of the fenced or 
walled cities of Naphtali. Joshua 19 : 35. 

In the New Testament this sea reaches its highest 
destination. The fertile border around the shore was 
cultivated like a garden. The hills were covered with 
herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. On the western and 
north-western side of the sea, the hills separate and re- 
cede inland, forming a level plain of five miles wide, and 
six or seven miles long, which even in its present ne- 
glected condition teems with fertility. This plain is " the 
land of Genesaret" of the Gospel. Matt. 14 : 34. 
Four springs send copious streams over the plain, which 
are a great blessing in this depressed warm region, and 
help to cover it with a tropical vegetation. It is a per- 
fect garden spot> reminding one all the while of the valley 
of the Nile. 

This lake and plain were moreover along the great 
thoroughfare of trade, between Babylon, Damascus and 
Palestine. All around the sea wealthy cities were 
planted, which carried on a busy trade with each other 
by means of ships. All this combined to make this an 
influential region, the centre of Galilee and northern 
Palestine. It was no stirless retired spot, where Jesus 
sought rest from the passions and corruptions of men 
in solitude, but the heart and metropolis of the social 
and commercial life of Syria and Canaan. - For this rea- 
son He dwelt here in preference to Jerusalem or any of 
the other cities of the Holy Land. Nowhere could He 
have found such a prolific soil into which to sow the seed 
of Life. 



444 



CHRIST IN GALILEE. 



Galilee then was a swarming hive of busy life. It 
contained over four hundred cities and villages. It was 
spoken of as upper and lower Galilee. That part border- 
ing on Samaria, including the plain of Jezreel and Naza- 
reth,, was lower, and the more mountainous portions 
along the foot of Lebanon constituted upper Galilee. Our 
Saviour coming from Nazareth hither, goes into Galilee 
(upper Galilee). Matt. 4 : 12-13. This part, according 
to Strabo, was partly inhabited by Gentiles, Phoenicians, 
Syrians, Arabs, and Josephus says even Greeks. For 
this reason the northern portion came to be called " Gali- 
lee of the Gentiles." Matt. 4 : 15. They were industri- 
ous mountain people, but the Jews living here were des- 
pised by their brethren of Judea, for being mixed up 
with Gentiles and acquiring their rude dialect. For this 
reason too the Apostles were reproachfully named 
"Galileans," and Jesus "the Galilean." 

Here lived the Jewish sects in common with the Gen- 
tile races of Syria and Arabia. The people were less 
prejudiced, but perhaps more corrupt, here, than in the 
Holy City. They were more ignorant, but less envious. 
All the vices of trade and the licentiousness of Gentile 
manners, poured into this mountain metropolis. Here 
were all those diseases which are the offspring of corrupt 
manners. These furnished abundant occasions for the 
exercise of Christ's miraculous power. Hither he came 
to call sinners to repentance, to seek and to save the lost. 
Nowhere could he have found such audiences, and such 
patients to heal. From here "his fame" went "through- 
out all Syria." Matt. 4 : 24. The people streamed "from 
Galilee, from Decapolis, from Judea, and from beyond 
Jordan," and from "that w 7 hole region round about." 
Matt. 4 : 25. They followed him into the " villages or 



FISHERMEN OF TIBEKIAS. 



445 



cities," and carried " about in beds those that were sick 
where they heard he was," and crowded into huts, and 
even sought entrance through the roof. Mark 2, and 6 : 
55. By the sea-side and in the gates of towns he met 
"publicans" or despised tax-gatherers. Matt. 9 : 9. — 
Women that were sinners, Roman soldiers, boatmen and 
fishermen, the sick and the friends of the sick, he found 
in the tumult and turmoil of the teeming cities. Hither 
he came when his townsmen at Nazareth rejected him ; 
" c&me down" from the elevated hills of Galilee into this 
deep mountain-basin. Matt. 4 : 13. And when he came 
the words of the prophet were fulfilled: 44 The land of 
Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali, the people which sat 
in darkness saw great light." Isaiah 9:1; Matt. 4 : 15. 
The tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali bordered on the 
banks of this sea. The 44 darkness" here indicates their 
low and lost moral condition. 

Here our Saviour found men fishing, of whom he made 
44 fishers of men." This sea has ever been famous for the 
quantity and quality of its finny tribes, on which account 
two cities on its banks were called the 44 House of Fish- 
eries" or 44 Bethsaida." One of these was the home of 
Philip, Andrew, and Simon. John 1 : 44. Walking along 
the shore one day, in the early part of his ministry, 
Jesus saw two brothers, in the act of 44 casting a net into 
the sea, for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, 
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And 
they straightway left their nets and followed him." After 
a while he spied an old man, with his two sons, in a ship 
lying at the shore, mending their nets. Them too he 
called to follow him, 44 and they immediately left the 
ship and their father, and followed him." Matt. 4 : 18-22. 
38 



446 



CHRIST ON THE LAKE, 



And these brawny, hard-working fishermen became four 
of the chief Apostles of our Saviour. 

It was a hard occupation, often requiring them to labor 
while others slept, and endangering their lives in perilous 
storms. Once, after they had vainly "toiled all night," 
Simon moored his ship in the calm eddy along the shore, 
and washed his nets. Just then a great crowd pressed 
Jesus, as "he stood by the lake." To escape the incon- 
venience of such a multitude, he entered Simon's ship, 
and told him to push it a little away from the shore, so 
as to get a better chance to speak to the people ; and 
then he taught the wonder-stricken assembly from the 
vessel. Then he counselled Peter to launch out into the 
deep, and throw out his net for a draught. The quantity 
caught was so great that the net brake. Two ships were 
filled with the fish, so that they began to sink. " Peter 
fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I 
am a sinful man." Then Peter, together with James and 
John, who were his partners, again forsook their ships 
and followed Christ. Luke 5 : 1-11. Of course, these 
"ships" were nothing but fishing-boats, easily manned. 

Although Christ was the maker and controller of all 
worlds, he yet was subject to earthly rulers — " the 
powers that be." At one time the tax-gatherers asked 
him for his tribute-money, and he had nothing to pay it 
with, for he was poor. And Peter, having left his fish- 
ing business, had no means of earning money. Then he 
sent Peter to the sea-side, with his hook, and the first 
fish he caught had the needed money in its mouth. 
"That give for me and thee," said Christ. Matt. 17 : 
24-27. 

The crucifixion of Christ inflicted grievous discourage- 
ments on his disciples, which even his resurrection could 



GREAT HAUL OP FISHES. 



447 



not at once remove. There might have been some show 
of reason to follow him before his death ; but to persist 
in following a man on whom rested the curse and igno- 
miny of the cross, would be to share his shame, and, in 
the eyes of most people, an act of sheer madness. They 
could not go forth to preach, for they had not yet 
received the Holy Ghost. They had received momentary 
glimpses of the risen Saviour, but still he appeared as 
if by stealth. What should they do ? Whither go ? 
Away from Jerusalem to the home of Jesus among the 
hills of Galilee ? But even here they must live ; and 
wherewith buy bread ? Seven of them were together. 
Simon Peter, who acted as guide and counsellor, " saith 
unto them, I go a fishing." The others consent to follow, 
and so, in their extremity, they get at their old business. 
It was not an abandoning of the cause of Christ, but an 
effort honestly to get their daily bread. For a whole 
night they labored, but "caught nothing." It was a 
dreary night to them. There was the little, sad company 
of seven in their boat on the lake. In the hush of morn- 
ing, before the surrounding villages woke to the hum 
and hurry of daily toil, they spied through the first 
grey light of dawn a solitary figure "on the shore." 
Through the still air came a gentle voice, after the 
endearing manner of the East, " Children, have ye any 
meat?" They sadly answer, "No." He who is afflicted 
in all our afflictions, knew the distress of their hearts, 
and came to fill the hungry. Again, he tells them where 
to cast their net, which they are not able to draw "for 
the multitude of fishes" it contained. The loving heart 
of John first recognized the Master. After the manner 
of Eastern fishermen, they had thrown aside their coarse, 
loose tunics, whilst struggling with their nets. Peter 



448 JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. 

hastily put on his fisher's coat, together with his girdle, 
leaped into the lake, and dashed through the shallow 
water out to Jesus, while his companions dragged the 
net to the shore, which he then helped to pull on the 
land. Jesus then invited them to eat " bread and 
fish"; and this was "the third time that Jesus showed 
himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the 
dead." John 21. 



THE SEA OF GALILEE. 



449 



CHAPTER XX. 

«|e $m at Miln— €\t Waters af Hot— 



The Sea of Galilee is still subject to tempests. Sud- 
den gusts of wind sometimes rush down the ravines and 
mountain-gorges, resembling violent whirlwinds, which 
soon lash the lake into boiling fury. So our Saviour 
once entered a boat, with His disciples, and there came 
down a storm of wind on the lake. He was asleep. 
The boat filled up, and the affrighted disciples awoke 
Him ; and He rebuked and calmed " the raging of the 
water." Luke 8. 

Once He told His disciples to get into a boat or "ship," 
and go to the other side of the lake, — to Bethsaida and 
Capernaum ; He, the meanwhile, sent away the people 
that had crowded around Him, and went away from the 
beach to one of the neighboring hills that rise around 
the lake, to pray. The boat encountered a strong head- 
wind ; so that, after rowing till toward morning, they 
had only made a distance of three or four miles — not 
more than half across. On the dark sea they saw some- 
thing walking, which they took to be "a spirit" or 
ghost, according to the prevalent superstitions of those 
countries, both in ancient and modern times. For who 
38 * 2d 



450 



CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES. 



but a "spirit" could walk on the sea? They were 
troubled ; and then He bade them, " Be of good cheer : 
it is I; be not afraid." Peter, with his usual impulsive- 
ness, wished to run to Him on the water ; but his lack 
of faith caused him to sink, until Jesus came to his 
rescue. Then He went on the ship, and the wind ceased. 
If there were fishing and trading boats on this sea now, 
such scenes of trial would still be common. Matt. 14. 

About a mile east from our tents at the southern end 
of the sea, was the site of the ancient Tiberias, built by 
Herod, the Governor of Galilee, in which he also lived. 
He called it after the Roman Emperor Tiberius. His 
brother built another city at the northern end, near the 
entrance of the Jordan, which he called Julias, after the 
Empress Julia. Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist 
over beyond the Jordan. As the Saviour to human ap- 
pearance seemed to make such slow progress with the 
founding of His kingdom, the good man became doubtful 
of His Messiahship. Then " he sent two of his disciples, 
and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do 
we look for another ?" Matt. 11 : 2-3. He was not taken 
out of his prison until Herod had him beheaded. The 
tidings of his death, like the message he had sent, reached 
Christ at the sea of Galilee. Then He and His disci- 
ples " departed into a desert place by ship privately." 
Mark 6 : 32. It is remarkable how often our Saviour 
made use of these "ships " or boats to get from place to 
place. They are the invariable means of travel and 
communication between different parts of the sea-shore. 
Among the hills around the lake, are secluded uncultiva- 
ted glens nestled among bluffs and projecting cliffs. They 
were not inhabited then; places only visited by an oc- 
casional herdsman or shepherd. Although no crops or 



CHRIST FEEDS THE MULTITUDE. 451 

luxuriant trees are raised there, they still contain some 
grass for pasture. To get away from the press of the 
multitude our Saviour goes to one of these secluded 
spots, called "a desert place," more from its retirement 
than barrenness. But even thither the crowd followed 
Him — five thousand, men, besides women and children, 
whom He fed by a miracle. A lad who had come with 
the throng had five barley-loaves, flat, unleavened, un- 
raised cakes, shaped like a plate, made of coarse ground 
unbolted barley, just such as our Bedouins, and even our 
present muleteers, bake and eat. Where came all the 
people from ? Some from the neighboring cities, and 
many no doubt were Jewish pilgrims on their way to the 
approaching feast at Jerusalem. Matt. 14 ; John 6. That 
there "was much grass in the place " shows that it must 
have been early in the spring, before it was burned up 
by the sun. Just now (April 27th) all the hills around 
the lake look green. 

This miracle was most probably performed on the 
eastern side of the sea, where the mountains approach 
nearer to the shore, and which then, as now, being be- 
yond Jordan, and more exposed to the Bedouin tribes of 
the desert, was a more retired and less frequented dis- 
trict than that on the west. Along here are still caves, 
cut out of the rocks for ancient tombs, and others formed 
by the natural convulsions and volcanic upheavings 
which this country must have passed through. Here 
where the ancients deposited their dead, demoniacs or 
men possessed with devils sought shelter. This was " the 
other side " of the sea, where Christ met two of these 
wretched beings, " coming out of the tombs, exceeding 
fierce, so that no man might pass by that way." Matt. 
8 : 28-34. Neither chains nor fetters could bind them. 



452 



MAGDALA. 



Mark 5. " They wore no clothes, neither abode in any 
house, but in tombs." Luke 8 : 27. On the green slope 
of the hill-side a herd of two thousand swine were led to 
pasture, into which the evil spirits passed and rushed 
them down into the sea. The swine-herds must have 
been Gentiles or apostate Jews, whpse love of gain was 
stronger than their love of God, as the Jewish law pro- 
nounced these animals unclean, and so the Hebrews re- 
gard them to this day. Mohammedans are as hostile to 
pork as Jews. The hams we used were imported from 
Europe. Few things lower a Christian so much in the 
estimation of a Moslem, as to see him eat the meat of 
such an unclean and foul-habited animal. 

Most probably that other miracle of feeding four 
thousand was performed on this same secluded side of the 
sea. Matt. 15 : 32-38 ; Mark 8 : 1-9. When He wanted 
to get away from the multitude to a quiet place, it was 
" on the other side of the sea." But again the multitude 
follow Him — stream from far and near, and listen to 
the precious words which drop from His lips, forgetful of 
their own wants, for three days. Again He multiplies 
the little bread on hand to feed the great multitude. 
Then He took a boat and crossed over to Magdala, a 
small village whose site is marked by a few hovels and 
the ruins of a watch-tower, at the mouth of the plain of 
Genesaret, about three miles from where we had en- 
camped. It was the home of Mary Magdalene, or Mary 
the Magdalenian, as the original has it. Mark 15 : 40. 

The most interesting place around the sea of Galilee, 
of ancient and modern times, is the plain of Genesaret. 
Here, undoubtedly, somewhere was Capernaum, where 
Christ moved and mingled among the towns-people, and 
healed their sick. When He grew weary of the crowd, 
He would go apart, alone to a " desert place " to pray. 



GENESARET. 



453 



Much of His time was spent here (Matt. 4 : 13), and 
many of His miracles were wrought in curing the sick of 
this city and vicinity. Here He dwelt, for it was "his 
own city." Matt. 9 : 1. Here Peter lived, and here 
Christ chiefly "dwelt," during the three years of His 
ministry. Matt. 4 : 13. Here He healed the centurion's 
servant, and here lived the nobleman's son whom He 
healed. Hither He was coming when He overtook His 
disciples on the sea, and that most wonderful soul-nourish- 
ing sermon on the bread of heaven, in the sixth chapter 
of John, He spoke " in the synagogue, as he taught in 
Capernaum." Here a poor daughter of affliction pressed 
through the crowd to touch the border of His garment, 
and Jairus, whose daughter He raised from the dead, 
(Mark 5 : 22), was doubtless a ruler or leader of one of 
the synagogues of Capernaum. Here He opened the 
eyes of two blind men ; cast out the devil of a man pos- 
sessed, whom He met in the synagogue ; healed a man 
sick of the palsy, whom His friends had to let down 
through the roof ; and healed Simon's wife's mother of 
the fever. Indeed Christ uttered two-thirds of His para- 
bles, and performed two-thirds of His miracles in despised 
Galilee ; and by far the most of these in the cities and 
region round about the sea of Genesaret. With reason 
therefore, could he say that " most of his mighty works 
were done" in these cities. Matt. 11 : 20. 

Here at the opening of this charming plain of Genes- 
areth, all astir the greater part of the year with sowers 
and reapers, He sat by the sea-side, and when the crowd 
pressed too closely around Him, He again went into a 
boat, and addressed them from this floating pulpit. 
Possibly the plain then presented a busy scene of persons 
sowing their seed ; for in Palestine they sow several times 



454 



FERTILITY OF GALILEE. 



a year, often sow even in harvest. Many simple unlet- 
tered hearers crowded up to hear Him, to whom He makes 
the sowers preach. We can imagine Him pointing with 
His uplifted hand to these laborers when He said : "Be- 
hold a sower went forth to sow." Matt. 13. Passing 
through the plain I noticed narrow foot-paths, hard with 
the tramp of man and beast, traversing the fenceless fields 
in all directions. The skimming scraping ploughs could 
not turn up these, and the seeds could not strike root into 
the hard earth. Of course the numerous birds found 
here will " devour them up." Stony places there are 
too, along the base of the hills, where a thin layer of 
earth partly covers the rocks near the surface, too thin 
to nourish their growth. Large and small bushes of 
thorns grew on the fields of lazy peasants, which the 
Arabs call the " Nakb," and of which Hasselquist thinks 
the thorny crown of our Saviour was woven, for which 
their long prickly points would seem to adapt them. No 
seed, however good, could help but choke among such 
thorn-bushes as one sees scattered over the cultivated 
portions of the plain. But the "good ground" here 
really seems unsurpassed, especially when contrasted with 
the unimproved hills on the opposite side of the lake. 
In this country, and especially in Genesaret, the crops 
of farmers often yield " a hundred fold " in a year, as 
did Isaac's in the land of Gerar. Gen. 26 : 12. In our 
country we sow and reap but once a year, but here they 
sow and reap in less than four months. 

As our cavalcade strung its line along one of the paths 
that threaded the waving fields of the plain, I dismounted 
to pluck a few ears of wheat to preserve as sacred speci- 
mens, — large beardy heads like our Mediterranean, — 
when lo ! there I found the tares with the wheat, just as 



FIG-TREES. 



455 



our Saviour has them. The tares are like our American 
cheat, whose grains resemble light shrivelled rye. Some 
had no heads yet, whose leaves and stems looked so much 
like wheat, that any attempt to pull up the tares would 
"root up also the wheat with them." "When once they 
are in the wheat, the best way is to " let both grow to- 
gether until the' harvest/' 

Fine large mustard stalks grew along the sea-shore in 
abundance, all in blossoms, amply large enough for the 
birds of the air to come and lodge in the branches there- 
of/' The seven parables in Matt. 13 are most admirably 
suited for this locality. The " leaven " to which he com- 
pares the kingdom of heaven, was of course an article in 
common domestic use. And in this greedy lake-empire 
where commercial prosperity kindled a greediness for 
earthly treasures, "the treasure hid in a field" seems 
very natural. Here too where many a "merchant man " 
revelled in bloated luxury and wealth, goodly pearls, 
pure and precious, were doubtless in great demand, as 
still they are in many parts of the East. The " net that 
was cast into the sea " could still be filled in this lake. 

It is remarkable how natural, true, and instructive the 
parables of our Saviour appear, when studied on the 
ground where they were spoken. These localities furnish 
impressive illustrations of the teachings of Christ. The 
fig-trees of Olivet still preach of the second coming of 
Christ : the vineyards in the Judean hills, hedged round 
about with vails and watch-towers in them, speak of the 
call to labor in Christ's vineyard ; the numerous shep- 
herds, walking ahead of their flocks, over the south of 
Palestine and around Jerusalem, calling their sheep after 
them, seeking the lost and wandering, nursing and pro- 
tecting the weak and young, speak in touching terms of 



456 



UNENCLOSED FIELDS. 



the Good Shepherd, whose sheep hear His voice, seeking 
the lost — more concerned for the one astray than the 
ninety and nine that are safe at His side. Going down 
from Jerusalem to Jericho, attended by mounted Turkish 
soldiers, with sword and spear, to protect you against 
robbers, resting in the shade of an ancient "inn" by the 
uninhabited wayside, haunted by many a prowling Barab- 
bas — all this prepares one to understand and appreciate 
the mission of the Good Samaritan. Nowhere is one 
more strongly impressed with the superiority of Christ's 
teachings, both in method and substance, than here amid 
the mountains and dells of this Holy Land. Evermore 
he deduces his sayings from the most common subjects 
and scenes of natural and social life — things which peo- 
ple saw and handled, and whose illustrations they could 
readily understand. 

It must have been two or three weeks later than now, 
when Jesus passed through along one of the narrow paths 
of the unfenced grain-fields of this plain, and his disci- 
ples, being hungry, pulled off some heads, and rubbed 
the wheat out, and ate it. Luke 6 : 1. Our Saviour's 
allusion to "new wine" in "old bottles" was made at 
Capernaum, his own city. Matt. 9 : 17. The word bot- 
tles means skins, such as I everywhere saw in use here 
to transport water, wine, milk, and oil. They are simply 
goat-skins, with the hairy side turned in, and the neck 
and legs tied up. While new they are tough and strong, 
but when old they become dry and brittle, and are easily 
torn. For this reason our Lord said that new wine, 
which was not done fermenting, would break the " old 
bottles" or skins. 

No two seas could be more unlike than the Dead Sea 
and the Sea of Galilee. The one is a sea of death, with no 



JEWISH HOLT CITIES 



457 



living thing in it : the other, a sea of life, teeming with 
all manner of fishes. The one is bordered by bleak, bare 
mountains and gravelly, grassless plains : the other, 
hedged round by grassy mountains and this exuberant 
"land of Genesaret." And yet no two regions could 
have been more alike, before the destruction of Sodom 
and Gomorrah, than the country around this sea and the 
vale of Siddim. " Then that plain of Jordan was well 
watered everywhere, . . . even as the garden of the 
Lord, like' the land of Egypt." Gen. 13 : 10. No better 
description could be given of " the land of Genesaret" 
than this — well watered, and like the land of Egypt along 
the Nile. May not our Saviour have had the ancient 
agreement and present contrast of these two localities in 
his mind when he pronounced a woe on Capernaum ? 
That it should be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomor- 
rah, which once were equally prosperous, was a compari- 
son intended to give a clearer idea of the ruin and deso- 
lation of the curse. 

The Jews have four holy cities in Palestine — J erusa- 
lem and Hebron in the south, and Tiberias and Safed in 
the north. To these towns Jewish pilgrims mainly resort, 
and here nearly all the Hebrews in the Holy Land live. 
Tiberias, near which we had encamped, is surrounded by 
a wall, except on the side toward the sea. The streets 
are narrow and filthy, and many of its inhabitants eke 
out a miserable existence. Its population is estimated at 
from three to four thousand, about one thousand of whom 
are Jews. Like those in Jerusalem and Hebron, they 
are a forlorn-looking race. Having no taste, and per- 
haps no privilege, for farming, and neither money nor 
inducements for trade, they possess no means of support. 
A number of them gathered around our tents with pitiful 
39 



458 



AN EMBARRASSED CLERGYMAN. 



stories of their gloomy, destitute condition. Safed, the 
other Jewish Mecca, is in sight of Tiberias, perched on 
a lofty peak of Mount Lebanon. Tradition says that 
our Saviour had it in view when he compared the power 
and prominence of Christian influence to "a city that is 
set on an hill," which cannot be hid. Matt. 5 : 14. It 
can be seen at a great distance, the houses and streets 
rising like steps up the steep mountain ; and, if it 
existed then, our Saviour's allusion to it would not be 
improbable. 

We met a German clergyman here, a chaplain in the 
Prussian army at Magdeburg, who was suddenly deprived 
of the means of travelling. He had been journeying 
with the pilgrims whom we had left at Mount Carmel. 
Their departure in a steamer left him without a caravan 
with which to travel. In many a country he might have 
taken the next stage or train of cars ; but such luxuries 
being unknown here, and travelling alone afoot being 
unsafe, he had to bide his time, until a chance caravan 
might pass along. We left the poor man negotiating 
with a Jew for a safe transport to Safed, where he hoped 
to find other means of proceeding toward the sea-coast 
and Beirout. 

In the morning before we started, Ahmed rode with 
me to the hot springs, a few miles south-east of Tiberias, 
toward the outlet of the lake into the Jordan. A build- 
ing over the springs contains bathing-pools, in separate 
rooms, filled with warm water. A number of naked Arab 
invalids were lying and sitting around them, like the sick 
at the pool of Bethesda, waiting for the moving of the 
water. A few were splashing about in the steaming 
basins, with the hope of washing away their bodily ills. 
I might have tested the virtues of a hot bath at such an 



A CONSECRATED SEA. 



459 



ancient and celebrated a place, but the diseased bathers 
looked too repulsive to hazard contact with them in the 
same pool. 

From a heap of rubbish we could look over the wall 
of Tiberias into the city, where we saw the people on 
their house-tops, some asleep, and others just in the act 
of getting up. -Our path led along the sea for some dis- 
tance, through vast quantities of large oleander bushes 
in full bloom ; then across the plain of Genesaret. The 
air was all astir and vocal with birds ; large partridges, 
pigeons, and doves, cooing plaintively, amid the flowery 
bushes along the beach. Occasionally a crumbling wall, 
perhaps the ruined remnant of a once proud city, peeped 
above the rank grass or grain. On a hill-side to our 
right, gently sloping down into a green dell toward the 
coast, we passed a spot which some fancy to be the site 
of Capernaum. Upon the hilly rim of the lake, we took 
a parting view of this consecrated spot. Far down, the 
sea glowed and glistened in the morning sun, embraced 
by a green mountain belt. Most appropriately do the 
Arabs call it "the eye of the land," reflecting the splen- 
dor of the sun and the starry heavens. Its history and 
natural features leave it without a peer. With no Mont 
Blanc to look down upon it, like Lake Leman, and no 
Rhigi like the Vierwaltstatter See, the silvery -headed 
Hermon has been a witness of its events and vicissitudes 
since the days of Joshua. Heathen poets love to make 
their lakes and fountains the favorite abodes of their 
gods, but where is there another sheet of water which 
bore the Son of God on its bosom, and fed Him with its 
fishes ; whose waves He pressed with His sacred feet, and 
calmed when in commotion ? Surely no spot has been 
associated with His mighty works as the Sea of Galilee. 



460 



AN ARAB ENCAMPMENT. 



Far up in the bleak hills we met a solitary ruin which 
may once have served as an "inn." In the shade of its 
crumbling wall we sought shelter from the sun, while par- 
taking of our noon-day meal. Some of the muleteers 
strayed away from us, which occasioned no little alarm. 
Finally, we halted in a large rolling plain near a stream 
of water, and sent a few armed men after them. At the 
end of two hours they arrived, informing us that they 
had strayed off on a path directly toward Damascus. 
After we had encamped, several Arabs from a neighbor- 
ing tribe rode up to our tents, one of whom dismounting, 
stuck his spear into the ground, washed himself at the 
stream, then spread his coarse blanket on its bank, and 
performed his devotions. Warriors and others, when 
they stop to rest or pray, usually dispose of their spears 
in this way, just as Saul had stuck his near his bolster 
when asleep in a trench. 1 Sam. 26 : 7. After a while 
others came along with the flocks and herds (cattle, cows, 
and sheep), of the tribe. Some of these too said their 
prayers on the banks of the stream. As the Koran re- 
quires them to wash before they pray, they always per- 
form their devotions, if possible, near a stream or a foun- 
tain. They had rather an intelligent look, and asked 
why we did not stop nearer their encampment. 

Our encampment was on the edge of a large level 
marshy plain, in sight of Lake Merom. Whilst the sea 
of Galilee has little connection with Old Testament his- 
tory, the Dead Sea and this Lake have none with the 
New. It is in the midst of a tract of table-land, so 
marshy in places, that it is difficult to approach it. A 
part of its shore is skirted with tall reeds and impenetra- 
ble jungle, the abode of wild fowl and gazelles, such as 
are found along the southern part of the Jordan. This 



FINAL DEFEAT OF THE CANAANITES. 461 

uppermost lake of the Jordan is about seven miles long 
and six wide. 

Here in this low plain around the Lake — "at- the wa- 
ters of Merom" — Joshua fought his last decisive battle 
with the Canaanites. He had commenced down at Jericho, 
and fought his way northward, until finally the Canaanite 
races gathered in this bottom district at the foot of Mount 
Lebanon, to engage in a last desperate struggle, with 
Jabin King of Hazor at their head. The name of Hazor 
still lingers at the head of the plain toward Hermon, 
and Stanley thinks he has found the site of the ancient 
city in a spot near Cesarea Philippi, marked by a few 
rude blocks of stone, on a rocky eminence. The heads 
of the different tribes were assembled around him, with 
their followers, "much people, even as the sand that is 
upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots 
very many." It was the last desperate effort of the Ca- 
naanites to banish the Hebrew invaders from their soil. 
For the first time Joshua had to encounter horses and 
chariots in battle. These could have full play along the 
level shores of the lake. He made a sudden and start- 
ling attack, and threw the enemy into confusion. Terri- 
ble was the slaughter, for the Lord wished this formidable 
mode of warfare to be exterminated, so as to save his 
people from their future annoyances. For this reason he 
commanded Joshua to "hough their horses and burn 
their chariots with fire." He slew all that were in Hazor, 
together with the king thereof. He pursued the fugitive 
Canaanites far over the western hills of Palestine, and 
he smote them, until he left none of them remaining. 
This finished the conquest of Canaan from Beersheba to 
Dan, from Pisgah to Hermon. Joshua 11. 

The next morning we proceeded northward over the 
39 * 



462 



THE BUFFALO. 



plain. In an hour we reached a brook, with a ruined 
building, that might once have been a mill. Sections of 
these marshes are cultivated, and produce heavy crops. 
At some places flocks of Arabs were ploughing, some 
with large buffaloes, others with oxen. I need not say 
that these are a different animal from our American buf- 
faloes. They are large, raw-boned beasts, with a thin 
sprinkling of short hair, of a dark ash- color, coarse skin, 
large long horns, sometimes growing almost horizontally 
and half spirally away from their heads. They are not 
a cleanly animal, as the flies and heat set them to wal- 
lowing in the marshes and mud along the Jordan. If 
this large, raw-boned, tough animal, with a long tail, 
which, when chased or frightened, it " setteth up like a 
cedar," be not the behemoth of Job, it certainly bears a 
striking resemblance to it. " He lieth under the shady 
trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady 
trees cover him with their shadow ; the willows of the 
brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a 
river, and hasteth not : he trusteth that he can draw up 
Jordan into his mouth." Job 40 : 17-23. Here, as in 
Egypt, they are very generally used for ploughing. 
Where there are no wagons they of course need no team 
or wagon animals. Stanley thinks this buffalo is the 
unicorn of the Bible, which many interpreters take to be 
the rhinoceros. As this animal is not found in Syria or 
Palestine, there is some ground to decide in favor of the 
buffalo. Still the unicorn in Job would not seem to have 
been a working animal, as these are. " Canst thou 
bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow ? or will he 
harrow the valleys after thee?" Job 39 : 10. 

These large animals call vividly to mind the "buffaloes" 
and bulls of Bashan, of whose hills we saw beyond the 



THE RIVER. 



463 



Jordan from here. Large herds of cattle grazed over the 
plain, around the black tent villages of the Arabs. The 
unchangeable black goat-hair tents, made precisely as 
Moses made them at the foot of Sinai, were strung out 
in irregular streets. The sides were taken down to admit 
the breeze. Old patriarchal sires, with long grey beards, 
sat under their" canopy, with a numerous flock of half- 
naked grand-children romping around the tent. Some 
of the younger women spun with the distaff. 

We rode up before one of these long tents, and got a 
drink of milk. It was something between buttermilk 
and thick sour milk, a nondescript article, which then and 
there tasted very well. 

Toward the end of the marshes we passed a large 
tribe of Arab warriors, encamped here to get ready for 
a battle with the tribe we met at the foot of Mount Tabor. 
About four or five hundred saddled horses were picketed 
around the tents — noble steeds, neighing and pawing the 
earth with impatience. Each warrior had stuck his spear 
near his tent, and sometimes near his horse. 

At noon we reached the Jordan. After riding some 
distance up its western bank, we crossed it over a stone 
bridge, resting upon three arches. The river here is 
lined with a profusion of trees and thick brushwood. 
While reposing under one of the arches for an hour or 
two, several Arab boys squatted down beside us ; one a 
pretty little fellow, with a modest thoughtful countenance 
and a noble head, surmounted by a red cap and turban. 
I felt myself drawn toward the lad, so that when we 
rode away from them, I felt a keen regret. His physiog- 
nomy brought to mind the probable appearance of young 
Isaac and Joseph. 

From here commenced our ascent of Mount Lebanon. 



464 



MOUNT LEBANON. 



Through rising upland glades we leisurely rode away from 
the Jordan, to the music of birds and jingling of the tiny 
bells strung to the necks of our baggage horses. The 
path leads over a green turf, and up through a continuous 
grove. The Jordan ramified into numerous rivulets, 
which purled through shady thickets, and dashed over 
wild waterfalls. Trees great and small, willows and tall 
terebinths (oaks), thick wheat -fields and meadows of rank 
grass skirted our way. Leafy branches hanging over the 
path brushed our turbans, and birds frolicked and piped 
familiarly all around us. At the edge of Banias, the 
Cesarea Philippi of the Scriptures, at the foot of the 
great Hermon, we raised our tabernacles for the night. 
The main branch of the Jordan here issues from a natu- 
ral cave in the mountain-side, a full river of clear sweet 
water at the start, which dashes wildly away from its 
large spring down over a succession of waterfalls and 
rapids toward Lake Merom. In ancient times this cavern 
was called Paneum, perhaps from its having been conse- 
crated to the god Pan. For there was a time when Greek 
settlers lived around here, and the Greeks were in the 
habit of worshipping this god in grottoes or caves. This 
is one of the sources of this life-giving river, so mys- 
terious and sacred to the Hebrew. What a contrast be- 
tween its origin and its end ! Here it spreads fruitful 
fields and fragrant flowers in its track, a paradise of vege- 
tation. But its end is in the Dead Sea, from which all 
life has fled for ever. " He that findeth his life, shall lose 
it : and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it." 
Matt. 10 : 39. It is a striking figure of that greatness 
and merit which has not the patience to acquire solid 
worth by gradual toil. The Nile begins in a desolate, 
unattractive region, but ends its career by creating a 



THE D ANITES. 



465 



Paradise. The Jordan begins with swelling and loud pre- 
tensions, but ends in a lake of death. This indeed is the 
destiny of all natural life. "The path of glory leads 
but to the grave." Four miles west of this, another 
branch of the Jordan springs out of the mountain, 
where the Danites anciently had a stronghold : " They 
called the name* of the city Dan, after Dan their father 
. . . howbeit the name of the city was Laish at first." 
Up to these rich and irrigated declivities of Lebanon, 
came the restless, roving Danites in search of a home. 
Five men were sent to explore the country, "who came 
unto Laish" and saw that the people dwelt "careless." 
" Six hundred men with weapons of war" went up to 
take it, who on their way took away the gods of Micah. 
They smote the city with the edge of the sword, and burnt 
it with fire, because it was alone and unprotected in the 
mountain, "far away from Zidon," having no business or 
trade with any man. Then as now the land was " very 
good, where there is no w T ant of anything that is in the 
earth." Judges 18. 

This was at the northern extreme of Palestine, just as 
Beersheba was at the extreme south. Hence when the 
sacred writers wish to designate the whole of the coun- 
try, from north to south, they say " from Dan to Beer- 
sheba." Being far removed from Shiloh, the centre of 
Jewish worship then, the Danites " set up the graven 
image" they had taken from Micah, and the Levite they 
had coaxed away from him, served at their altar until 
they selected other priests. Judges 18 : 30, 31. It con- 
tinued to be a high place of idolatry until the separation 
of the ten tribes, when Jeroboam set up a golden calf 
here, to save the people the trouble of going all the way 
down to Bethel. 

2e 



466 



CITY OF BANIAS. 



Banias consists of about fifty houses or huts. Many 
of them had leafy tents on the roofs, such as we had 
found along the foot of Carmel. Most of the people seem 
to live from their flocks. The pastoral life is the favorite 
pursuit of Arabs, because the easiest. In the evening 
the village flocks were gathered into " sheep-folds " in the 
rear of the town. These consisted simply of enclosures, 
some of wood, and others of stone, low enough for one 
easily to " climb up some other way " without entering 
" by the door." John 10 : 1. Quite a busy scene ensued, 
when a goodly number of the villagers milked their re- 
spective goats. By the side of the town is the ruined 
massive masonry of a fortress, the citadel of the ancient 
city. Other ruins are around the place, and a large one 
high up on a remote mountain-top. An inquisitive swarm 
of men, women, and chattering children congregated around 
the camp, watching the cook in the preparation of his 
unrivalled dishes. By some means or other a vast army 
of fleas got possession of our tents, to our almost insuffer- 
able annoyance. I can still see my comrade, half-unclad, 
diligent in their pursuit, while I divided my time and 
energies between them and my Journal. 

To a Christian, Banias is chiefly interesting on account 
of its connection with Gospel history. Once only our 
Saviour came up hither, and this seems to have been the 
northernmost limit of His journeys. He had been utter- 
ing bold truths, and offensive to the Jews. The feelings 
of His countrymen had reached a crisis, when, — some 
from timid fear and others from discouragement, — 
" many of his disciples went back, and walked no more 
with him." Even the chosen twelve seemed to meditate 
also to "go away." John 6 : 66, 67. Then "he would 
no longer walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill 



MOUNT HERMON, 



467 



him," (John 7 : 1); " he went out, and his disciples, into 
the towns of Cesarea Philippi," (not the Cesarea of Cor- 
nelius, which is on the Mediterranean Sea, toward Jop- 
pa.) This rich, well-watered upland district, must have 
contained a flourishing population, with "towns" or vil- 
lages along the water-courses. Hither on the boundary 
of the Jewish and Gentile world, to this elevated look-out 
upon Palestine, He brought His disciples ; and as He went 
up the mountain way " he asked his disciples, saying unto 
them, Whom do men say that lam?" Matt. 16 ; Mark 8. 
And here too He asked that solemn question of the disci- 
ples, " Whom say ye that I am ? Simon Peter answered 
and said, -Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living Grod." 
Then Christ blessed Peter, and in sight of the immovable 
everlasting rocks which tower high above the city, culmi- 
nating in the snow-crested Hermon, against which the 
storms and changes of time beat in vain, He continued, 
" Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 

Eusebius says that Mount Hermon is over against 
Banias, and that Jerome was told the same by his Hebrew 
teachers. And so it appears from here, rising 6000 or 
8000 feet above it, and 10,000 feet above the Mediterra- 
nean. It is the Mont Blanc of Palestine, whose snowy 
crown is seen from almost every part of the Promised 
Land, down to the wilted region of the Dead Sea. Leba- 
non, which means the "White Mountain" is only the 
pedestal of this grand statue of nature. " It was mount 
Sion, which is Hermon." Deut. 4 : 48. Jebel-Es-Sheikh 
— the "Mountain of the Old Man" — and Jebel-et-Tilj — the 
"Mountain of Ice" — the Arabs call it. The Sidonians 
called it " Sirion," and the Ammonites called it " Shenir." 
Deut. 3 : 9. In the Canticles, Solomon represents Christ 



468 



EXTENT OF PALESTINE. 



as inviting the Church to " the top of Shenir and Her- 
mon," to view the charming prospect of the Holy Land 
which it commands. Cant. 4 : 8. The ships of Tyre 
were built " of the fir trees of Senir," which is Hermon. 
Ezekiel 27 : 5. The snows on its top, always melting 
and never melted, and the numerous rills that purl down 
its watery ravines, send up mists which fall gently in soft 
refreshing showers on the plains at its feet. The peace 
and unity of brethren diffuse a sweet influence, refresh- 
ing " as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended 
upon the mountains of Zion." Psalm 133 : 3. The 
reference is not to Zion at Jerusalem, where no such 
copious dews fall, but to these mountains which the 
ancients called Sion. 

And now we have reached the end of the Land of 
Promise. From Beersheba to Dan have we journeyed 
through this goodly land, which Moses prayed on Pisgah 
to enter — "the good land that is beyond Jordan, that 
goodly mountain, and Lebanon." Deut. 3 : 25. Its 
smallness disappoints the expectation of every traveller. 
It is only about 200 miles from Dan to Beersheba, and 
about sixty miles from the Mediterranean to the Jordan. 
And on this little territory lived a nation, the essence and 
extent of whose influence are greater than those of the 
mightiest empires in the history of the world. Attica 
was smaller still, and wielded a marvellous influence on 
ancient civilization, but not a tithe in comparison with 
this home of the celestial classics, the birthplace of the 
Absolute Truth in Time. 

The one great feature of the country is the range and 
diversity of its resources. Its climate combines the tem- 
perature of the tropics, with that of the temperate zones. 
Unlike other Eastern countries, here "the sun will not 



A FRUITFUL LAND. 469 

smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." Psalm 121 : 6. 
In the valley of the Jordan, and especially around the 
Sea of Galilee, you find a vegetation as rich and rapid in 
its luxuriant growth as that of the tropics. On the hilly 
highlands of Judea, and on this southern slope of Leba- 
non, the salubrity of the climate is unsurpassed. No 
country of equal size contains such inequalities of sur- 
face, and such a diversity of fertile soil. Think of the 
top of this Hermon, 10,000 feet above the Mediterranean, 
and the Dead Sea 1300 feet below it, and these two 
points not 200 miles apart. The bleakest of its hills 
are pregnant with aromatic herbs, and what mountain 
could compare with " the excellency of Carmel" ? Where 
find herds of kine and cattle like those which still roam 
over the green hills of Bashan ? Rivers too it has, not 
large, but rich with sacred associations. Where can you 
find rivers and brooks with a history like that of the 
Kedron and Kishon, of Arnon and the Jordan ? But the 
land depends not upon these for its harvests. Providence 
has two methods by which he waters the earth — rain and 
rivers. " Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth 
water upon the fields" (Job 5 : 10), as he does in Egypt. 
Here no mediating Nile brings fruitful and barren years, 
but fertile showers come directly from heaven, and the 
clouds (instead of rivers) drop fatness. " It is a land of 
hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven. 
The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from 
the beginning of the year even unto the end of the same." 
Deut. 11 : 11, 12. Even now you can still discern the 
footprints of that golden age in its history, when it flowed 
with milk and honey. The cliffs and rocks along the 
Juclean ravines drip with the honey of wild bees; the 
kine of Bashan and Esdrgelon (Jezreel), and the full- 
40 



470 



FLOWERS. 



uddered goats of every village flow with milk. Its cattle 
still browse on a thousand hills. Eshcol still furnishes 
clusters from the vine, like those the spies carried on a 
pole. It was " a good land, a land of brooks of water, 
of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and 
hills ; a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig 
trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil-olive, and honey ; 
a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, 
thou shalt not lack anything in it ; a land whose stones 
are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." 
Dent. 8 : 7-9. 

No trees so graceful and grave as the figs and olives 
of Olivet, the oaks of Carmel, and " the cedars of Leba- 
non." Its numerous "flowers of the field," and the 
grass that withereth — the sad emblems of human frailty 
— look as beautiful and green as they did when David, 
and the Son of David, saw and admired them. The rose 
still blooms on Sharon's plain, and the purple "lilies of 
the field" still grow without toiling or spinning as they 
did then. And what a variety of." the birds of the air," 
singing and silent, find a home here, such as even Jesus 
found not. The eagle that pounces upon its prey, and 
the puny sparrows, which cannot fall to the ground with- 
out the notice of a watchful Father ; the homely lark, 
flapping heavenward in its cheery song of praise, and the 
turtle-dove, cooing modestly among the trees and thickets 
of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee ; birds of gaudiest 
as well as homeliest plumage, all build their "nests" and 
find their homes here. Earth contained no lovelier land 
than this. It contained all the elements of sublimity and 
beauty. A distant glimpse of its matchless prospect re- 
freshed the dim eye of the dying Moses. No land was 



DEPLORABLE MISGOVERN MENT. 



471 



so well fitted to become the native country of Jesus — 
Emmanuel's land. 

No spot on the earth's surface would have been better 
suited to become the theatre of the Jewish theocracy, 
and the starting-place of "the kingdom of God" in the 
world. It is a Microcosm, a little world in itself, the soft 
blending of whose seasons, the variety of whose soil, 
scenery, and products, as well as whose geographical po- 
sition, so well fitted it to become the representative king- 
dom of the world. So that when Satan showed our Sa- 
viour, "from an exceeding high mountain," the land of 
Canaan, he had a miniature view of " all the kingdoms 
of the world and the glory of them." It was set " in 
the midst of the nations and countries that are round 
about her." Ezek. 5 : 5. Situated on the borders of 
three continents — Europe, Asia, and Africa, — along the 
coast of the Mediterranean, its location eminently adapted 
it to become the end of ancient civilization and religion, 
and the beginning of a new era — the geographical centre 
of the world's history. 

While the natural aspect of Palestine is pleasant, in 
spite of its desolation, its social, political, and moral con- 
dition is most deplorable. Nominally under the dominion 
of Turkey, the Sultan appoints his governors, who extort 
tributes from the people, without giving them protection. 
Not a single road is made or repaired. No wagon or 
carriage is seen in all this country. Hostile tribes hew 
each other to pieces ; and the sons of Ishmael come from 
the Desert and carry off the annual harvests, drive away 
the flocks, and, if resisted, fiendlike seek revenge in de- 
stroying their last hope of subsistence by cutting down 
their fig and olive-trees and covering up their wells. 
No arm of Justice shields the innocent. The anarchical 



472 



FORESHADOWING EVENTS. 



days of old have returned. There is no king in the land, 
and every man does that which is right in his own eyes. 
Judges 21 : 25. The decrepid empire of Turkey is only 
perpetuated by the jealousy of European Christian pow- 
ers. Whenever it is left to itself it must fall, like an 
imbecile paralytic. These "defenders of the faith" are 
the means, under Providence, of perpetuating the pre- 
dicted curses sent upon this Land of Promise. All that 
it needs is, a king — an arm of power, which can bring 
order out of its present chaos. 

The recent convulsions in the East, especially in this 
Lebanon district, promise to hasten the dawn of the 
morning. Europeans are constructing a road from Joppa 
to Jerusalem. England, France, and Russia have sent 
fleets to Syria and Palestine, to quell the recent murder- 
ous outbreaks of Mohammedan fanaticism, and protect 
the Christians and Jews. Without these, the empire, 
which nominally curses Palestine with its misrule, would 
devour itself. Attempts are made to form Christian colo- 
nies in Judea, and Christian Governments build churches 
in Jerusalem, and thus help to beautify it. Wealthy 
Israelites, from different parts of the world, are buying 
lands and making improvements in and about Jerusalem. 
About four millions of Jews — one-half of the Jews in 
the world — are at present lingering around the Mediter- 
ranean. They are variously distributed in the cities of 
Asia Minor, in Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, Cai- 
ro, and Damascus, and spread over Egypt, Syria, and 
Arabia, including the whole Turkish Empire; but all 
looking toward Jerusalem, and eagerly watching and 
waiting for the first signal to invite their return to their 
ancient possessions. This drifting of half of the Jewish 
nation toward the Land of Promise is significant just 



ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PROPHECY. 473 



now, when it is rumored that the bankrupt condition of 
Turkey has disposed the Sultan to sell Palestine, and 
when the Rothschilds seem to have the means and dis- 
position to buy it. All this looks like the shadow of 
stirring ''coming events." " The isles shall wait for me, 
and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons (the Jews) 
from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the 
name of the Lord thy God. The sons of strangers shall 
build up thy walls, and their Icings shall minister unto thee. 
The sons also of them that afflicted thee (the Mohamme- 
dans) shall come bending unto thee. Whereas thou hast 
been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through 
thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of 
many generations." Isaiah 60 : 9-15. 



40* 



474 



MOUNT LEBANON. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



On the morning of the 30th of April, when the dew 
had already copiously fallen around Cesarea Philippi, 
we started for Damascus. Just as our cavalcade moved 
off, the herald called to prayers from the village minaret. 
In crossing the Lebanon, one must of course expect up- 
hill work. We passed a number of Druse villages, whose 
inhabitants looked like a thrifty, industrious people. With 
much labor they had improved their mountain homes, and 
spread green meadows and wheat-fields over these sterile 
heights. 

The women looked remarkably tidy for orientals, some 
of whom we met at a village brook busy at washing. For 
a long while we rode along the base of Hermon. The 
large ravines on its top were partly filled with snow. Far 
up in Lebanon we took a last fond parting glimpse of the 
Land of Promise. Clear on the top of the mountain we 
found well-watered dells, with flourishing grass and grain 
fields. At the base of a rocky mountain, we reached a 
village of seventy or eighty houses, where we encamped 
for the night. A considerable stream, swollen by the. 
melting of the snow on Hermon, roared by it down the 
mountain. Our arrival proved the signal for a gathering 



A NOCTURNAL ALARM. 



475 



of villagers around the camp. Women viewed us from 
the house-tops, and herds of dogs set up a furious howl- 
ing. Bleak mountains extended all around us, forming a 
circular basin, which the half-full moon brought to view 
in a strange and strong relief after night. At the dead 
of night, when we and the muleteers sweetly enjoyed our 
rest after the wearisome mountain ride, a sudden flapping 
of the tents brought all to their feet ; some felt around 
for their guns or swords, and we for our tent-door, for 
the rickety dwelling took such a jerking and reeling, that 
it threatened to collapse forthwith. Of course we at 
once thought that the robbers were after us, and Ahmed 
soon had his whole armed regiment of Syrians after them. 
In a few moments, the enemy was found and forgiven ; 
one of our horses having taken a notion to pay us a visit, 
and becoming entangled in the tent-cords, handled the 
canvas and pole somewhat rudely. 

The next morning three Bedouins joined us, likewise 
going to Damascus. They were mounted on noble Arab 
steeds, armed with long spears, and said they belonged 
to the war tribe we met encamped near Lake Merom. 
They were rather more mirthful and jovial than Bedouins 
generally are. Eyeing my Arab for a while, one of them 
challenged me for a manoeuvre, and with that dashed off 
in a circle at full speed. Bound and round he flew in a 
narrowing circle, with his spear poised between the thumb 
and forefinger of the right hand, managing his horse with 
astonishing skill. I knew that it was all in sport, and 
gave reins to my charger for an encounter, using a cane 
for a spear. With his nostrils distended he snuffed the 
air, heedless of bit and bridle. We approached, my an- 
tagonist with his long w r eapon aimed at my breast, his 
black eagle eye flashing beneath his knit brow ; and just 



476 



PLAIN OF DAMASCUS. 



as the horses neared in full dash, he raised the spear for 
a hurl, and uttered an unearthly whoop that shook my 
whole frame with horror. The fellow could not have as- 
sumed a more terrific look and posture if he had trans- 
fixed a mortal enemy with his weapon. We are not told 
whether Saul and his fellow-travellers to Damascus were 
on horseback, but it is very possible. " The men that 
journeyed with him," were perhaps his escort; if so, 
they were armed with such spears, to whom our Bedouin 
friends must have presented a striking resemblance. 

Few luxuries are more refreshing to the traveller in 
the East than abruptly to emerge out of murky breezeless 
wastes into shady groves where purling brooks and sing- 
ing birds fill the air with Nature's melodies. So we rode 
wearily over the eastern slope of the Anti-Lebanus, 
where the Arabs extorted stunted crops from the meagre 
soil. The enervating sirocco had infused languor into 
every limb, until respiration almost required an effort. 
From a sterile mountain eminence the vast plain of Da- 
mascus opened to our view a dreary waste, relieved only 
by a green spot in the distance, which looked from here 
like an island in the sea. As we approached it, the grand 
park which envelopes the capital of Syria spread out more 
distinctly, and the white minarets of the city peered above 
the tree-tops in fragile beauty. On the edge of this oasis 
we reared our tents for the night, close by a suburban 
village. The next morning we rode over winding paths, 
among mulberry gardens, almonds, pomegranates, apri- 
cots, willows, and tall silvery poplar. The air was redo- 
lent with sweet odors; turtles and cuckoos cooed and 
flew from tree to tree, and the waters led out into many 
irrigating channels, diffused a fresh breath in the atmo- 
sphere. 



ENTRY INTO DAMASCUS. 



477 



Through a double gateway, with pointed arches, we 
entered a wide street, one side of which was partly paved. 
Both sides were lined with men of various crafts, and 
large heaps of wheat were piled up in front of the houses 
by the grain-merchants. In half an hour another gate 
admitted us into a burial-ground, bleak and dreary as all 
Moslem graves are. No tree or grass was seen, but only 
graves and gravel. The tombs were walled up like a roof, 
and plastered. At one end, a little water-pot was walled 
in containing water, in which a few green sprigs were 
placed. The most had small erect tombstones at the end 
of the wall, with an inscription. The plastered wall is 
white-washed, like " the whited sepulchres" of our Sa- 
viour's time. Another gate led us ' ; into the street which 
is called Straight," in which Saul of Tarsus lodged. Acts 
9 : 11. It is the principal business street of Damascus, 
lined with bazaars or shops, and roofed over in many 
places. Though wide for the East, it is narrow compared 
with the streets in our cities. It was crowded from side 
to side, a perfect hive of shouting pushing beings. How 
to get our horses through such a dense mass seemed a 
serious problem to me, but our muleteers understood their 
work. Two of them preceded us to prepare the way, 
striking about them with their arms, and crying at the 
top of their voices, "Yemeenak! shimalsh ! roah!" (to 
thy right! to thy left! on!) Then again, " riglak ! 
JcaabaJc I roah I " (thy foot ! thy heel ! on !) To this tune 
our horses bore us through the dense mass with a slow 
and cautious tread. A sea of up-turned faces stared at 
us with sullen mien, but none dared to molest or make 
us afraid. 

During the few days of our sojourn here, we abandoned 
tent-life for the comforts of a hotel, such as it was. This 



478 



SCENES IN DAMASCUS. 



city of 200,000 inhabitants, lias many large khans for 
the entertainment of Eastern travellers, but only one for 
the accommodation of Europeans and Americans, capable 
of entertaining twelve or fifteen persons. It was on this 
"Straight" street, a thoroughfare of Damascus, which 
extends from the eastern to the western part of the city. 
The roofs of the streets afford protection against the 
sun, and many that are uncovered are so narrow, and the 
houses so high, that the sun rarely reaches the people 
walking through them. The bazaars, like those in Cairo, 
are small chambers, which seldom have any communica- 
tion with the house in which they are included. Shops 
selling the same articles are generally in the same part 
of the city, and these rarely sell anything but the one 
class of goods or ware. So the shops of one section of 
a street all have shoes for sale, others all have hardware, 
others all have copperware, and so with every article of 
traffic. 

The mechanics are classified in like manner. Black- 
smiths have their shops all together ; so, too, shoemakers, 
jewellers, saddlers, tailors, etc. The clatter and din of 
tool and hammer often cause a deafening noise. Ancient 
Jerusalem was similarly partitioned off for different crafts 
and occupations. When Jeremiah was imprisoned, he 
received daily a piece of bread " out of the bakers' 
street." Jer. 37 : 21. The bazaars of this "Straight" 
street teem with the riches of the East. The stores are 
small six-by-eight boxes, with an open front, in which 
the owner sits tailor-fashion, whining at his pipe. If a 
customer comes he is likewise offered a smoke. Many of 
these are grave, patriarchal-looking men, with white 
beards, and costly flowing robes. Much of the merchan- 
dizing of Damascus is carried on in the large khans. 



PRIVATE MANSIONS. 



4T9 



The ground-floor of the large square court is used for 
the lodging of travellers and their animals, and on the 
next story a gallery runs around this court, which connects 
with store-rooms. In some of these we found some costly 
damask goods, and articles from remote parts of the earth. 

The wealth and splendor of Damascus are not indicated 
by the external show of the dwellings. Many of these 
are large, hut none look attractive. The princely man- 
sions of her wealthiest families possess few external 
attractions. The outside of houses is unpainted, and 
without the slightest ornament. The walls are of stone 
or unbiirnt brick, and have a dull earth-color. These, 
together with the absence of windows in front, impart a 
gloomy aspect to the streets. 

To get a peep behind the dreary walls into the domestic 
life of Damascus, we called on a number of wealthy 
families. Our first visit was to a wealthy Greek. A 
swarthy servant received us at the door, and conducted 
us through a narrow entry into a large open court within 
the house. In the centre of this a fountain was playing 
into a stone basin, with a few orange trees around it 
bearing golden fruit. All the rooms extended around 
the square court, with doors and windows opening upon 
it. All the domestic life is confined within these walls, 
like a besieged city within its fortifications. The rude 
exterior contrasts strangely with the gorgeous interior. 
The most splendid house I saw in Damascus, had the out- 
side appearance of a mud-plastered fortress, while its 
rooms were adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones. 
We were led into a series of apartments, all fronting and 
opening upon this court. The floors were ornamented 
with mosaic, and the walls inlaid with gold and shining 
shells. The main part of the room was elevated some 



480 



HARD SMOKING. 



six or ten inches above the rest, with divans placed along 
the walls, perhaps three inches high. Gorgeous as the 
whole appeared at first, I soon found that it would not 
bear close inspection. When on the point of leaving, 
several of the servants pressed us to take seats on the 
divan in a room with an open front, and accept of coffee 
and pipes. Not being partial to either as used here, we 
attempted to decline, but found that a refusal would 
place us in an awkward position. After squatting down 
about as awkwardly as western travellers generally do, 
the pipes were adjusted — tall glass globes partly filled 
with water, and a bowl on the top filled with tobacco. 
Their excellence consists in passing the smoke through 
the water, and thus extracting the injurious oil before it 
enters the mouth. A hose of a few yards in length 
brought me into communication with this apparatus. 
Whatever may be the virtues of this kind of smoking, it 
requires a great power of suction to get the smoke through 
the water, and when it is through it rarely stops before 
it gets into your lungs. With these pipes you as freely 
draw the smoke into the lungs as you inhale pure air, 
which accounts for the prevalence of liver complaint in 
Arabia. This is a peculiarity of these kind of pipes, 
and one which ought to banish them from the smoking 
world at once. 

With patient gravity we endured this laborious inflic- 
tion of hospitality. It is singular how soon we can ac- 
commodate ourselves to the most opposite customs of dif- 
ferent countries. How ludicrous one would feel at home 
to squat down cross-legged on the floor of a splendid 
parlor, and gravely suck smoke through a long hose from 
a glass bottle of water ; and instead of doffing his hat, 
doing the agreeable by occasionally putting his hand to 



WOMEN OF DAMASCUS. 



481 



his breast and head ! But this was not all. The Arab 
says : " Tobacco without coffee, is like meat without salt." 
This was served in puny cups set in other cups, without 
sugar or cream. Unsettled of course it had to be, for 
according to oriental notions, the essential virtue of good 
coffee consists in the grounds. In another apartment, a 
Greek priest indulged in the same luxuries. 

The second house we called at resembled the first in 
its arrangement. Indeed they are all alike, having the 
entrance, court, fountain, basin, rooms, all arranged in 
the same manner. The lady of the house received us at 
the door, and, followed by a servant, showed us her bril- 
liant dwelling. She was handsomer than most of her 
sex here. A profusion of gold was braided into her black 
locks, which dangled carelessly over her shoulders, while 
her brow was wreathed with a coronet of flowers. She 
walked on clogs, wooden shoes about six inches high, 
which gave her a shuffling step. The females seen in the 
streets do not look quite so squalid as those in Cairo. 
Except the few of the better classes, they are all dressed 
either in white, or with blue linen, or cotton. And, as 
in Egypt, they seem more scrupulous to cover the face 
than any other part of the body. 

It is said there are over 300 mosques (temples) in Da- 
mascus, many of which are of great size and beauty. 
There are many so-called schools, which however do not 
amount to much. If at all in operation, they at most 
have only a few scores of children, and only boys, usually 
squatting on the bare ground, while a grey-bearded sheikh 
sits knitting in a corner, as he leads them see-sawing over 
a few leaves of the Koran by rote, all shouting its verses 
in unison. Few learn to read, and fewer still to write. 

Lane, in his Manners and Customs of the Modern 
41 2f 



482 



AN INCOMPETENT TEACHER. 



Egyptians, gives a specimen of an Egyptian teacher, 
which suits equally for the latitude of Damascus. A man 
in his neighborhood, in Cairo, who could neither read nor 
write, was called to the office of a schoolmaster. Having 
committed the Koran to memory, he could hear the boys 
recite their lessons ; to write them, he employed the head 
boy in the school, pretending that his eyes were weak. A 
poor woman brought a letter, received from her son, 
which she wished him to read for her. He pretended to 
read it, but said nothing. The woman inferring from 
his silence that the letter contained bad news, said to 
him, " Shall I shriek ? " He answered, " Yes." " Shall 
I tear my clothes? " she asked; he replied, "Yes." So 
the poor woman returned to her house, and with her as- 
sembled friends performed the lamentation and other 
ceremonies usual on the occasion of a death. Not many 
days after this her son arrived, and she asked him what 
he could mean by causing a letter to be written stating 
that he was dead ? He exj)lained the contents, and she 
went to the schoolmaster and begged him to inform her 
why he had told her to shriek and to tear her clothes, 
since the letter was to inform her that her son was well, 
and he has now arrived at home. " God knows futurity ! " 
said the sage schoolmaster. " How could I know that 
your son would arrive in safety ? It was better that you 
should think him dead, than be led to expect to see him, 
and perhaps be disappointed." Whereupon some of the 
persons present, exclaimed, " Truly, our new fikee (school- 
master), is a man of unusual judgment." And for a little 
while he found that he had raised his reputation by this 
blunder. 

The Moslems here are zealous in their own way. I 
repeatedly saw merchants reading the Koran to some 



THE FAST OP RAMADAN. 



483 



blind man, or one that could not read himself, while they 
waited for a customer. Here, as in Egypt, religion is 
almost exclusively confined to the men. Ahmed remarked 
to me that women were expected to pray at home, and 
therefore attended no worship in the mosques. But he 
acknowledged that not one in ten of those remaining at 
home ever prayed. " But how is that, Ahmed ? " I re- 
plied ; "should not women be pious as well as men, and 
has the Prophet no room for them in heaven, that your 
religion neither teaches them to pray at home, nor invites 
them to do it in the mosques?" "It is too bad, my 
master, but so it is," he replied. "Mohammedan women 
have very little religion." 

It was the fasting season when we were at Damascus, 
the month of Ramadan, during which the Koran says 
all faithful Moslems must abstain from eating, drinking, 
smoking, smelling perfumes, and even intentionally swal- 
lowing spittle. Every day from dawn — when there is 
light enough to distinguish a black thread from a white 
one — till sunset, they must practise this abstinence. 
When Ramadan falls in summer, the abstinence from 
water is a severe trial. Soldiers in war, or persons on a 
journey, and others, are exempt from the duty. Not- 
withstanding this, Firage, our Nubian boy, has strictly 
kept the fast on our journey. In spite of our remon- 
strance, he travelled from eight to ten hours a day in the 
hot sun, without tasting a drop of water or a morsel of 
bread, from early morning till sunset. 

To lighten the burden of this task, they usually make 
up during the night what they lose in day-time. They 
indulge in all manner of feasting until after midnight, 
and often do not retire till toward morning. Some sleep 
till the afternoon. Many of the shops were not opened 



484 



NIGHT FESTIVITIES. 



before the middle of the forenoon, and the streets con- 
tinued well-nigh deserted until noon. During this season, 
night entertainments are furnished to the men at the 
cafe's (coffee-houses). "We spent an evening in one of 
these to see this phase of Mohammedan social life. A 
crowd of people were assembled in a rude court, with a 
temporary roof, and the omnipresent fountain in the 
centre. Out of the court a stairway lead into an ad- 
joining mosque. The entertainment consisted of music 
and smoking ; liquor, the bane of social gatherings in 
more civilized countries, was not even thought of. The 
band sat on an elevated platform, whose instruments con- 
sisted of a discordant violin, a tamborine, and something 
between a harp and the inside of a piano. The music 
was better than we heard in Cairo, but still bad enough ; 
and the screeching voices of the singers were hard to en- 
dure. The party seemed greatly delighted, and withal 
remarkably quiet. The few that conversed any, did it 
in a suppressed tone of voice. Nearly ail were smoking, 
raising a cloud which helped to obscure the few dim 
lights that were used. Soon after we entered, pipes were 
handed to us, with which we helped to increase the dark- 
ness. Being kindly invited into an adjoining barber-shop, 
the proprietor gave us other pipes. He was a talkative 
fellow, and had many questions to ask, among others, 
what hour of the day it then was in our country, and 
whether we had not discovered a hill of gold. In the 
East, where all the boys and men have their heads shaved, 
barbers often have their hands full of work. We re- 
mained at the cafe' till ten at night, and then groped our 
way homeward through dark, winding streets. For the 
last six months (summer of 1860), no Christian could 
have mingled with such an assembly, and gone through 



AN ORIENTAL BATH. 



485 



the dark streets of Damascus near midnight, without 
perilling his life. 

I nowhere met with anything that resembled a grog- 
shop in the East. Coffee-houses abound, of which there 
are said to be one thousand in Cairo. Some of them fur- 
nish their customers with hasheesh, an intoxicating drug 
which produces an exhilarating sensation. But few deal 
in anything stronger than coffee. These places are gene- 
rally held in small apartments, whose front on the street 
is of open wood-work in the form of arches. A raised 
seat of stone or brick is placed along the front, covered 
with matting, and also along the walls within the room. 
Nothing but coffee is served ; the pipes are usually brought 
along. Only the middle and lower classes visit them, and 
these mostly in the afternoon and evening. Musicians 
and story-tellers frequent some to entertain the visitors. 
The coffee-houses in Jerusalem were crowded during the 
last Easter season. 

The Mahommedans regard bathing as a religious duty. 
To the thoroughness of their baths I can bear testimony 
from experience. Calling at a prominent bathing estab- 
lishment one morning, I was led into a large hall. A 
lofty dome, painted with trees, cottages, and gushing 
springs, rose over the fountain and reservoir in the cen- 
tre. Led upon an elevated platform, my clothing had to 
give place to a set of towels, and the head was enveloped 
in a heavy thick cloth. Thrusting my feet into clogs six 
inches high — simply a wooden sole on two board props — 
I stalked away over the slippery marble floor like a pri- 
soner, with a man at each arm. The pavement was so 
smooth that I felt like a man first learning to skate. 
Every successive room grew hotter, until the vapory heat 
brought profuse perspiration from every pore. Finally I 
41* 



486 



PLEASANT SENSATIONS. 



was set on the smooth floor beside a pool of water, which 
was poured on the head in large buckets-full, and felt 
hot enough to scald the skin off. Then a lank- muscular 
grey-bearded Syrian laid me down and set to scraping 
me with something like a fine fuller's card, turning and 
rolling me over without much ceremony. After pouring 
a tub-full of soap-suds over me, his brawny hands per- 
formed the squashing operation of a rubbing process, not 
even excepting the face. This ordeal ended, I was arrayed 
in dry strips of linen, escorted back to where I started 
from, and passed into new hands, muffled in a new set 
of towels, and laid on a -mattress. Here a fellow took 
me through a kneading process, an operation which would 
certainly relieve the most hide-bound being. This done, 
he cracked the joints ; nothing short of a crack would 
do, which sometimes required no little twisting. Toes, 
knee-joints, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers — he 
did not venture to twist the neck — all had to submit to a 
torture. And, to cap the climax, he must rasp the soles 
of the feet with the rough surface of an iron scraper. I 
bit my lips with stoical submission, and resolved to en- 
dure, while the rogue looked up with a grinning smile, 
but still rasped on. 

Rolled into a dry sheet, I was then laid on a divan, 
and while resting from their well-meant tortures, as a 
special favor, they brought me a glass of sherbet, a kind 
of ice-lemonade, but the pipe had positively to be with- 
held during Ramadan. Then only I began to feel the 
charming effects of the operation. A sense of fresh 
buoyant life seemed to enter at every pore. It is quite 
natural that, after such a scalding, fulling, lathering, 
kneading, joint-cracking, bone-stretching operation, one 
should feel as if he had never been clean before. 



HABITUAL PRAYING. 



487 



Reclining on the divan, and inhaling the first soothing 
draughts of this purified state, I noticed a Moslem on an 
opposite platform, with his fuming towels around him, 
saying his prayers, and performing his various bows and 
prostrations. It is astonishing with what a business-like 
air these Mohammedans attend to their religious devo- 
tions. Their connecting religion with anything and every- 
thing, praying at the bath and at their business, might 
lead one to consider them pious in their own way. But 
they pray just as they eat, or put on their clothes, or at- 
tend to trade. Habit and hypocrisy have more to do 
with their prayers than conscience and an active sincere 
faith. Porter says, in his Five Years in Damascus : 
"Moslems spend their time between indolence and in- 
dulgence, wandering with solemn step from the harem to 
the bath, and from the bath to the mosque. They are 
emphatically a praying people, and so are they a washing 
people ; and there is just as much religion in their ablu- 
tions as there is in their devotions. Prayer with them is 
a simple performance. They pray as they eat, or as they 
sleep, or as they perform their toilet. These are all 
matters of course, parts of the daily routine, performed 
with the same care and with the same solemnity." 

The Associate Reformed Church of the United States 
has an interesting mission here. The Rev. Mr. Robson, 
Rev. Mr. Frazer, and Miss Dales, have been laboring 
here with considerable success. Miss Dales had an in- 
teresting mission -school. Two of her scholars, little 
girls aged eleven and twelve years, daughters of wealthy 
Jew r s, were already engaged to be married. The society 
and kindness of these dear friends in this benighted city 
I shall never forget. No one knows how to enjoy news- 
papers, until he has been deprived of them for months, 



488 



CHRISTIANS IN DAMASCUS. 



in an out-of-the way part of the world. How intently 
we pored over the Pittsburg Missionary, the Presbyte- 
rian, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, which our friends 
had given us, devouring column after column with dash- 
ing relish ! Once you lose the thread of current events 
in your country, one-half of what you read becomes a 
riddle ; but in spite of this, your eyes flit over paragraph 
and page with infinite zest. They have a neat little 
mission church, where we had the pleasure of worshipping 
with them on the Lord's day. The church has a raised 
floor at each end, with a fountain and basin in the mid- 
dle, where it is lowered. The seats are low divans, where 
you feel almost the same as sitting on the floor. The 
most influential member of this church, and indeed one 
of the leading men of Syria, is Dr. Meshakah. At pre- 
sent he is the American Vice-Consul of Damascus. He 
called on us, and kindly offered us any service we needed. 
He is a tall stout man, about sixty years of age, with a 
smiling countenance, florid complexion, and a grey 
beard, — a most patriarchal figure. He is said to be a 
highly intelligent man. The corruptions and inconsist- 
encies of the Armenian Church drove him to the verge of 
unbelief, from which he was rescued by the missionaries. 

The rising of the Druses and Mohammedans in Syria 
within the last six months has made terrible havoc with 
this mission. Miss Dales had before started a promising 
mission-school in Alexandria. But the rest were still 
there. The missionaries all escaped from Damascus, ex- 
cept Mr. Graham, from Ireland, who was killed. In his 
zeal to protect and save others, Dr. Meshakah was 
seriously wounded, and some of his children were cut to 
pieces in his presence. 

Two hundred yards from "the street called Straight," 



ANTIQUITY OF DAMASCUS. 



489 



is a cave, fitted up as a chapel, called the house of Ana- 
nias. Here tradition has located the interview between 
Ananias and the angel. Acts 9 : IT. Outside of the 
city a place is shown along the wall where the disciples 
are said to have let Saul down in a basket. Acts 9 : 25. 
Doubtful as these localities are, one thing is certain, that 
somewhere on "this large plain, be it two miles or five from 
the city, the startling conversion of Saul occurred. It 
was " near Damascus" when suddenly a light shone from 
heaven, and he fell to the ground, and the voice came, 
"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Acts 9. In 
this city he tarried in blindness for a while, and when his 
sight was restored " he straightway preached Christ in 
the synagogues, that he is the Son of God," 

Damascus, about 200 miles from Jerusalem, is one of 
the oldest, if not the oldest, existing cities in the known 
world. It has outlived all the revolutions, changes, and 
stirring events of 4000 years. Nineveh, Babylon, and 
Memphis exist only in buried ruins, but here is a populous, 
swarming city, which Abraham saw, and whose streets he 
doubtless trod. Coming from Chaldea with Terah his 
father, and from Mesopotamia to Canaan, he most pro- 
bably came over this plain. Gen. 11 : 31. He pursued 
the kings who carried off Lot " unto Hobah, which is on 
the left hand of Damascus." Gen. 14 : 15. And Eliezer, 
his steward, was " of Damascus." Gen. 15 : 2. "David 
put garrisons in Syria of Damascus," when he warred 
with a king on the Euphrates. 2 Sam. 8 : 6. Solomon 
again lost the city (1 Kings 11 : 24), and Jeroboam took 
it again. 2 Kings 14 : 28. 

Abana and Pharpar, the "rivers of Damascus," are 
still found here ; dashing, noisy streams, clear as crystal. 
The former emerges out of the crooked, craggy ravines 



490 



RIVERS OF DAMASCUS. 



of the Anti-Libanus, not far from Damascus ; the latter 
springs at the foot of Mount Hermon, and both empty 
into lakes beyond the city. The Abana is larger than 
the Pharpar, hence its name occurs first of the two. 
Pharpar passes the city at a distance of several miles, 
but Abana is carried into every quarter of it by canals. 
These canals fetch its waters high up the mountain, and 
play it from every fountain in garden, mosque, and 
dwelling. In ancient times, as now, their waters exten- 
sively served for bathing and domestic use, as well as to 
water the land. When Naaman, the Syrian leper, was 
told by Elisha to wash in the Jordan, he exclaimed : 
"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better 
than all the waters of Israel?" 2 Kings 5 : 12. So far 
as the natural appearance of these different rivers is con- 
cerned, the clear crystal streams of Abana and Pharpar 
would strike the mind of a heathen more favorably than 
the milky waters of the Jordan, especially way down at 
Gilgal. 

Damascus then already was the head of Syria — a 
city that, in point of luxury and wealth, compared favor- 
ably with Samaria. Isaiah 7 : 8 ; 8 : 4 ; 10 : 9. It still 
excels in the manufacturing of certain articles. The Da- 
mascus silk, cotton goods, and steel blades have become 
famous all over the world. Its chief trade now, however, 
is carried on with the Bedouin tribes that people the vast 
plains of Arabia. In its bazaars the greater part of 
Syria and the whole of Mesopotamia do their shopping. 
When Ezekiel wrote it supplied Tyre, the Queen of Sea- 
ports, with her costly goods. "Damascus was thy mer- 
chant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for 
the multitude of all riches." Ezekiel 27 : 18. 

Damascus is chiefly situated on the southern bank of 



POPULATION OP DAMASCUS. 



491 



the Abana, with part of its suburbs on the northern. 
Before the river leaves the mountain, a number of canals 
carry off its water to different parts of the plain. Two 
of these canals supply the city and its surrounding gar- 
dens. This oasis, in which Damascus is embosomed, is 
about twenty-five miles in circumference. Beyond this 
is a fruitless waste ; only where the river-water reaches 
is there life and verdure. On account of its limited 
agricultural products it has always been measurably de- 
pendent on mercantile and manufacturing -resources. 
The plain in which it is located contains an area of about 
two hundred and thirty-six square miles. Eastward from 
the city are three lakes, into which " the rivers of Da- 
mascus " empty. The city itself does not cover so much 
ground ; perhaps an area of two by three miles in size. 
Formerly it had three walls around it, now only one, and 
this partly in ruins. The narrow streets enable them to 
push the houses close together. I saw two men, with 
laden donkeys, meet in one of these streets, where the 
one had to turn back to leave the other pass. The popu- 
lation of the city is variously estimated at from 150,000 
to 200,000. Of these about 25,000 are Christians (Greeks, 
Armenians, Latins, and Maronites), and four or five thou- 
sand Jews. The rest are Mohammedans. 

In nearly all Mohammedan countries, crazy people are 
regarded with superstitious reverence. What Lane says, 
in his " Manners and Customs of the Egyptians," applies 
to many other nations : "An idiot or a fool is vulgarly 
regarded by them as a being whose mind is in heaven, 
while his grosser part mingles among ordinary mortals ; 
consequently he is considered an especial favorite of 
heaven. Whatever enormities a reputed saint may com- 
mit (and there are many who are constantly infringing 



492 



LUNATICS AND DEMONIACS. 



precepts of their religion), such acts do not affect his 
fame for sanctity ; for they are considered as the results 
of the abstraction of his mind from earthly things ; his 
soul, or reasoning faculties, being wholly absorbed in 
devotion, so that his passions are left without control. 
Lunatics who are dangerous to society are kept in con- 
finement ; but those who are harmless are generally re- 
garded as saints. Most of the reputed saints of Egypt 
are either lunatics or idiots, or impostors." 

In one of the most crowded streets of Damascus I re- 
peatedly met one of the modern demoniacs, with no 
clothes on but a few rags around his loins. His violent 
gesticulations and repulsive features were enough to in- 
spire any one with terror, and yet neither men nor women 
seemed to fear or avoid him. It would seem that this 
unfortunate class of beings were treated with similar 
respect by the ancients, and were even admitted into 
their religious assemblies. Our Saviour found the "man 
with an unclean spirit" at Capernaum in the synagogue. 
Mark 1 : 23. 

There are many traits of character and custom in 
which the Arabs and Turks are our antipodes. They 
shave the head but not the chin, and we the reverse. 
With us the uncovering of the head in the presence of 
another one is a mark of respect, with them- a mark of 
disrespect. When they go into a place of worship, they 
keep on the hat and take off the shoes or slippers ; we 
do the opposite. They mount on the right side of a 
horse, and we on the left. They write from right to left, 
we from left to right. We show our good-breeding by 
taking the outside when we pass persons on the street, 
they by passing nearest to the wall. They do the honors 
of 4he table by serving themselves first, we by serving 



ARABIAN WEDLOCK. 



493 



ourselves last. If a friend inquires after jour wife, you 
regard it as a compliment ; to inquire after theirs is an 
insult. Their mourning-dress is white, ours black. They 
finish their wooden houses from the top downwards, and 
we from the foundation up. The men wear frocks, and 
the women pantaloons. We wash the hands by dipping 
them in water, they by having water poured upon them. 

The Bedouin tribes of Arabia retain many of the patri- 
archal customs. Frequently cousins are married together, 
as in the case of some of the patriarchs. Abraham, send- 
ing his servant to his own country to seek a wife for 
Isaac, is what every Arab father does under similar cir- 
cumstances. Gen. 24. Save in exceptional cases, the 
"first-born" daughter is always given in marriage before 
her younger sisters, as Laban tried to do. Gen. 29 : 26. 
They do not always stop, however, with a Leah and 
Rachel. An old patriarch of our caravan through Ara- 
bia Petrsea had an extensive experience in this respect. 
Stroking his long grey beard one day, he remarked : 
" Four-and-twenty wives has Allah (exalted be his name !) 
given me. The widow of the Sheikh of Petra sent a mes- 
sage, to the intent that she wished to become my wife. 
My first wife she became ; and the best of the four-and- 
twenty has she been to me." Bedouin etiquette regards 
it uncourteous for a man to decline a proposal for mar- 
riage coming from a woman. It must not be supposed, 
however, that this man was wedded to these two dozen 
wives all at the same time. The bonds of Arab wedlock 
are not very firmly riveted, so that they unite and sepa- 
rate without much ceremony. 

On the morning of the 5th of May we kissed the hand 
to our host Antonio of Damascus, and received his part- 
ing salaam. The tramp of our horses, the coarse jeers 
42 



494 



DEPARTURE FROM DAMASCUS. 



of our muleteers, and the tiny bells of their mules, pro- 
duced strange echoes in the narrow-roofed streets, still 
empty. W e threaded our way out through the gate, then 
along the canals, through a considerable village, and up 
the mountain side. The sun shining on the bare white 
lime rocks, was painfully glaring. Large flocks of 
donkeys with bales of wood met us, already coming down 
the mountain. On a bluff of the mountain, like that on 
which the tower of Lebanon, which "looketh toward Da- 
mascus," stood (Solomon's Song 7 : 4), we got our last 
and .best view of Damascus. Its houses, temples, and 
turrets, shone with almost snowy whiteness. Like most 
things in this sinful world, it appears best from a distance. 
Through the pure sunny morning air its rude mud-walls 
and homely dwellings shone with spotless lustre. The 
white city embowered among green gardens of trees and 
flowers and fields of grain, with tree-tops and white 
minarets vying for the ascendency, presented a scene not 
easily forgotten. On one of these mountain heights, now 
hallowed by " the caverns and tombs of a thousand 
Mussulman saints," Mohammed is said to have stood 
when yet a camel-driver from Mecca, and after gazing 
on the enchanting scene he turned away without entering 
Damascus, with this remark : " Man can have but one 
paradise, and my paradise is fixed above." Julian called 
it the " Eye of the East." It remains the queen of oriental 
cities, the Paradise of Syria ; a city of flowers, sparkling 
with crystal fountains and flowing rivers. The streams 
of Lebanon, and the "rivers of Damascus," purl and 
sparkle in this wilderness of " Syrian gardens." 

In a crooked narrow valley we reached a rapid moun- 
tain river, along whose banks, strewn with groves, fruitful 
fields and villages, we continued for several hours. A 



BAALBEC. 



495 



violent thunder-shower overtook us at mid-day, from 
which we fled into a cave in the rocks. Quite a number 
of these remain along here, hewn out of the sides of the 
mountains. Across another hill we reached a rich plain, 
between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon, on which 
spread out a variegated scene of villages, streams, and 
green fields, bordered with bald mountains. A broad 
well-used road stretched along through vineyards, fig and 
mulberry gardens, and even with a sprinkling of apple 
and pear trees. The streams were shaded by willows 
and tall silvery poplar. We encamped about twenty 
minutes from Zebedenai, a village of small farmers. The 
next morning we rode through the town, consisting of a 
group of houses scattered among trees and gardens. We 
spent the day by successively ascending and descending, 
here meeting a few ploughing in a glen and there others 
leading their flocks and herds to pasture, hoping on every 
succeeding hill-top to see Baalbec. Finally we reached 
the edge of the mountain which overlooks the valley of 
Ccele-Syria, formed by the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. 
A violent thunder-storm arose ; peal after peal fell from 
the black frowning clouds. It was a dismal ride, that 
longing approach to the city of the sun. At length we 
suddenly came upon erect broken columns, then to the 
village of Baalbec and its ancient temple of the sun. 

Baalbec is supposed to be the Baalath of the Scrip- 
tures (1 Kings 9 : 18), the Baalhamon where Solomon 
had a large vineyard. Solomon's Song 8 : 11. Some also 
locate his house of the forest of Lebanon here. 1 Kings 
7 : 2. These hills and the eastern slope of Lebanon, first 
greeted by the morning sun, are admirably adapted for 
the cultivation of the grape, producing wine of sweetest 
flavor. In later times, about the Christian era, it re- 



496 



TEMPLE OF BAAL. 



ceived the name of Heliopolis, that is, " city of the sun." 
Like the one in Egypt, it became the centre of sun-wor- 
ship, as the sun or Baal was one of the chief gods of 
ancient Syria. Anciently a populous and extensive city, 
it now contains only some fifteen hundred or two thousand 
inhabitants. About one-fourth of these are Oriental 
Christians. The present town is built on the ruins of the 
ancient one, fragments of whose glory strew its streets 
and fields. 

The most interesting remains of ancient Baalbec are 
two massive temples. The largest one stands on an artifi- 
cial platform, twenty or thirty feet above the contiguous 
plain, and is a thousand feet long from east to west. On 
the south of this is the temple of Baal, the sun-god, 
which is about one-fourth as long. This was surrounded 
by forty Corinthian columns, eighteen of which are yet 
standing erect in their places. These columns were 
usually formed of three pieces, and are so tightly joined 
that some have not been broken asunder by their fall. 
They are seven feet in diameter and from sixty to seventy 
feet in height. The temples were entered through lofty 
porticoes. Within are chambers, which perhaps were 
occupied by priests and others engaged in the temple 
service. The main entrance into one of the temples is 
through a large arched gateway, the keystone of which 
has slipped down half out of its place. A large eagle is 
carved on the lower side of the stone with keys in his 
talons. The floors are covered with broken columns, stone 
blocks and rubbish. Under these temples are subterra- 
nean tunnels, with arched ceilings, through which the 
religious processions of some of these ancient idolaters 
may have passed. Out of this confused mass of ruins 
rise six Corinthian columns seventy feet high, with their 



MAGNIFICENT RUINS. 



497 



tops joined at the cornice, which they lift high above 
their prostrate fellows. They are unsupported at the 
top, and their bases have been chiselled and narrowed 
away, and still they stand in spite of war and time. The 
foliage carved on the chapiters and ceiling around some 
of the columns is still perfect, and shows what progress 
the ancients had made in the art of sculpture. No de- 
scription can give an adequate conception of the grandeur 
and magnificence of these temples, even as they now ap- 
pear, in vast heaps of confused fragments. When com- 
plete, with thousands of worshippers streaming between 
their lofty columns and through their high arches, the 
sight must have been surpassingly grand. 

The parts of the wall which still remain, look firm 
enough to stand till the end of time. There are blocks 
of limestone in the wall from fifty to sixty-five feet long, 
and of a corresponding depth and thickness. These are 
twenty-five feet from the floor, and, measuring the arti- 
ficial base on which the temple stands, fifty feet above 
the ground around its base. In one of the ancient quar- 
ries, about a mile from Baalbec, we found a block which, 
according to Robinson, is sixty-eight feet four inches long, 
•seventeen feet two inches wide, and fourteen feet seven 
inches high. Five sides are perfectly dressed, while the 
base is not yet cut loose from the rock. From this it 
would seem that they dressed their building-stones before 
they quarried them, not cutting the base off from the 
solid rock until all the other parts had been finished. We 
speak of the progress of physical science ; but whether 
modern architects could convey a solid block of limestone 
as high as a three-story house, if raised on its end, one 
mile from the quarry to the building, and raise it into the 
wall fifty feet above ground, is a question. The wonder 
42 * 2 a 



498 SITUATION OF ANCIENT TEMPLES. 



is, not that we have progressed so far in advance of the 
ancients, but so little. Thanks to Revelation and Chris- 
tianity, the world has morally gained much since then, 
but in many branches of science we are hardly where 
they left off. 

Temples are always built in the neighborhood of a 
spring or stream of water. A clear large fountain gushes 
out of the earth near these ruins ; and on its bank is an- 
other smaller circular temple, fast falling to pieces. 
Perched on the western wall of the temple of Baal, I 
watched the sun sinking behind Lebanon, and his red 
light as it lingered on the tall columns which rose around 
me. Lacking spiritual guidance and illumination, the an- 
cient Coele-Syrians felt around in the dark for the Divine 
Being. Feeling the need of moral light, how natural 
that they should select the symbol of Divine Light and 
truth for their object of worship. Here in this plain he 
shone with special lustre. Long before he rose they could 
see his coming light on the tops of Lebanon, as we did. 
Long after he set, his lingering light gilded the summit 
of the Anti-Lebanon. Here beside this stream they built 
him a temple, to seek light for their souls. All this was 
a prophecy of the rising of "the light of the .world,'* 
which came " to lighten the Gentiles." Luke 2 : 32. Still 
I meditated amid the ruins, on the builders and early 
occupants of these gigantic structures, until the shrill 
hoot of an owl on a contiguous wall, bid me repair to 
the tents before it became wholly dark. 

Baalbec has also suffered by the late Syrian wars 
(1860). The blood-thirsty fiendish frenzy has swept over 
this region like the sword of the Destroying Angel. 
During one week, nearly 1100 men, women, and children, 
were daily killed in Damascus. In this Lebanon district, 



A FIELD OF CARNAGE. 



499 



12,000 persons have been murdered, besides those who 
have fallen in open fight. More than 220 churches have 
been destroyed, 200 priests butchered, 163 villages de- 
molished, and more than seventy millions of dollars' worth 
of property has been annihilated. An Eastern custom 
leaves the murdered dead unburied, until their murderers 
have been brought to justice. For months after, 10,000 
human bodies were lying around Mount Hermon, in full 
view from the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean, and 
in the plain of Sidon, the Phoenicia of the ancients. The 
Syrian climate requires the dead to be buried within 
twenty-four hours after their decease ; and yet, strange 
to say, those which the hyenas and wolves had not eaten, 
blackened and crisped like Egyptian mummies, without 
undergoing decomposition. In palaces and barracks, in 
deserted villages and tenantless houses, by the way and 
in the field, wherever they fell there they were still lying, 
their ghastly features crying to heaven for vengeance 
upon their cruel murderers. 

About twenty-five miles north-east of Baalbec, 6400 
feet above the sea, are the celebrated cedars, the pro- 
geny of the ancient "cedars of Lebanon." We received 
word that the deep snow in that region would render an 
attempted visit there impossible. Different travellers 
give their number from 350 to 400. The old trees are 
very large, which some writers suppose to be as old as 
the reign of Solomon. Robinson says : " They form a 
thick forest, without underbrush. The older trees have 
each several trunks, and thus spread themselves widely 
around." The wood is hard and lasting, and better than 
any other for building purposes. Hiram, king of Tyre, 
sent his servants up here to hew down cedar trees for 
Solomon, and take them down to the sea, and convey 



500 



THE CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



them in floats to Joppa, for the building of the temple. 
1 Kings 5. The only parable in the Old Testament 
speaks of "the cedars of Lebanon." Judges 9:15. 
The Psalmist gratefully enumerates the cedars of Lebanon 
among the wonderful works of God. Psalm 104 : 16. 
Their lofty waving tops are a figure of the proud whoin 
the Lord will bring low. Isaiah 2 : 13. When God 
spared Israel and destroyed their foes, his people were 
like these cedars which the axe never molested. Isaiah 
14 : 8. Their tall tough trunks were used to make the 
masts of the Tyrian ships. Ezekiel 27 : 5. Solomon's 
chariot was made of their wood. The cedar was the most 
noble representative of the vegetable kingdom. It was 
the highest and the hyssop the lowest of plants. 1 Kings 
4 : 33. The refreshing vitalizing influence of the Church 
is like the numerous "streams from Lebanon," which fill 
its plains and dells with cheerful life. Solomon's Song 
4 : 15. It is like "the glory of Lebanon." Isaiah 35 : 2. 
Rich as it was in flocks, fir trees, and cedars, its slain 
beasts and wood were insufficient to bring the Lord a 
worthy burnt-offering. Isaiah 40 : 16. Its fruitful slopes 
abounded with flourishing vineyards, whose grapes pro- 
duced wines of richest flavor. Hosea 14 : 7. But the 
glory and pride of Lebanon were her forests of rare 
cedars, which were transported hundreds of miles. 
Doubtless many thousand acres were covered with them. 
Now there are but few places where any remain, and 
these are fast disappearing. Vandal travellers mutilate 
them in their zealous relic worship, and the native moun- 
tain tribes cut them down for fuel. Unless something is 
done to protect them, their days are numbered. Thus it 
may not be long till " Lebanon shall fall by a mighty 
one;" when it shall be "ashamed and hewn down." 
Isaiah 10 : 34; 33 : 9. 



CCELE-SYRIA. 



501 



CHAPTER XXII. 



Ccele-Syria is a valley of about eight or nine miles in 
width.. It is formed by the lofty ranges of the Lebanon 
and Anti-Lebanon, and looks like an expanded mountain 
cleft. The plain is from three to four thousand feet above 
the sea, and the mountains rise almost as many feet above 
its own level. It is therefore appropriately called "Hol- 
low-Syria," as its name signifies — an Eden-like dale 
hollowed out of the top of Lebanon. Nearly a whole 
day we rode over its beautiful meadow-like fields after 
leaving Baalbec. Although a severe winter had thinned 
the crops, doubtless a common visitation in this high lati- 
tude, the wheat, lentils, and other products, looked pro- 
mising. In Samaria the wheat was whitening for the 
harvest two weeks before, and here it was just shooting 
into heads. Luxuriant vineyards, with sturdy vines almost 
like those in the vale of Eshcol, abounded along the 
sloping base of the Lebanon. Numerous streams, some 
swollen by the melting of the mountain snows, rushed 
down its ravines, which were skillfully husbanded and 
spread to water the plain. The Orontes, the principal 
river of the valley, is likewise used to irrigate the lands. 
A few small lakes dot the plain and add to its picturesque 
scenery. 



502 



CCELE-SYRIAN VILLAGES. 



All the villages showed marks of industry and thrift — 
thrift in an Eastern sense. They seemed to farm their 
lands in common. At some places a hundred ploughmen 
were employed on twenty or thirty acres of land. The 
women too seemed all busily engaged in doing something, 
though not always the most suitable work. Not a few 
were employed in molding manure into large flat cakes, 
which they spread on the house-tops to dry for fuel. 
Even where the wood is not scarce they seem to prefer 
this dry dung to cook with, perhaps on account of their 
dislike to chopping wood, or because it kindles and burns 
more easily. The valley was one continuous garden, 
teeming with a profusion of wild flowers. In many places 
the "lilies of the field," though somewhat sickly and 
shrivelled, morning-glories, and dandelions, greeted us. 
The animated and busy scenes which everywhere met us 
formed a most cheering contrast to the white dreary 
mountain tops, still buried beneath wintry snow. 

We dismounted in a grove of silvery poplars on the 
edge of a village, to lunch and rest for a short season. 
The houses had a neat and tasty appearance, the fronts 
of some being whitewashed. Cheerful, chubby boys 
saluted us with "bonjourno" and "bona sera," (good day 
and good evening) which reminded us that we were among 
a people that had some intercourse or relationship with 
Italy. Quite a brisk stream turned a small grist-mill at 
the end of the village. Great numbers of thriving mul- 
berry trees grew around the town. It was a remarkable 
village for Syria — so tidy, fresh, and busy. 

After ascending the Lebanon about an hour, we reached 
a khan, before which we concluded to encamp. The lovely 
valley, with its variegated colors, woodland, wheatland, 
meadows and ploughed fields, verdure and villages, and 



LIFE IN TABERNACLES. 



503 



streams threading their crooked courses in all directions, 
all spread out to view like a panorama. The hospitable 
proprietor soon welcomed us with coffee and the pipe. 
" Tired nature" demanded rest, and so the pipe was only 
honored with a few whiffs. After a while the chattering 
of a few swallows awoke me — sounds so familiar that my 
waking thoughts were of home ; swallows just like ours 
too, their bills and throats making an infinite ado. 44 Like 
a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter," said the grateful 
Hezekiah. Isaiah 38 : 14. Here, as in our country, the 
swallow observes the time of its coming and going, with- 
out being told. Jeremiah 8 : 7. 

This last night on Lebanon was also the last of our 
tent-life. Beautiful and hallowing are the lessons one 
learns by living in tabernacles. This wandering life, 
having literally no 44 abiding city," your only home being 
the spot where you lay your weary limbs for a few fleet- 
ing hours 44 between evening and morning," impresses 
you most seriously with the transitoriness and evanescence 
of earthly joys. At every sunrise the earthly house of 
your tabernacle is dissolved, at every sunset you fasten 
the stakes and stretch the cords for a brief repose ; but 
always nearing the end of your journey. As Mont- 
gomery has it : 

"While in the body pent 

Absent from thee I roam, 
And nightly pitch my roving tent 
A day's march nearer home." 

That evening, the last before we reached Beirout, the 
same hymns we sang at the Bed Sea, and in our most 
trying days in the desert, employed our tongues. 

"Guide me, thou great Jehovah." 
"Come thou fount of every blessing." 
"Upward I lift mine eyes," 



504 



A RETROSPECT. 



sounded sweeter, even that night in our tent, than 
when we used to sing them in Arabia, longing for the 
Promised Land. More than two months before we had 
started from Egypt ; for a while I feared that I would 
have to bury my only companion in the wilderness ; at 
other times in imminent peril, yet the Lord had delivered 
us from them all. In Arabia our tent-life had its perils 
as well as its pleasures ; in Palestine it was less danger- 
ous, and abounded more in variety and incident. From 
Damascus, the most eastern point of our journey, my 
heart beat lightly, for there we tacked about westward. 
And now the last night in this roving tent ! To-morrow, 
God willing, we shall lodge in a comfortable hotel by the 
sea-side in Beirout, and in a few days the steamer will come 
that is to take us to the sunny shores of France. Such 
a prospect, just then and there, was sufficient to send a 
thrill of enthusiasm through the heart of the humblest 
pilgrim. 

At half-past six the next morning, our saddled horses 
already impatiently champed their bits to hasten our 
start. Steep as was the path in places, it was an easy 
ascent. All was jubilant with life. Every glen and 
ravine seemed to send a dashing rill down toward the 
valley. Numerous sky-larks started along our winding 
mountain path, pouring forth their morning song, and 
napping upward, singing still when no longer seen, until 
the sweet sounds died faintly away in the distant heavens. 
At 8 a. M.j we reached a summit, from which we got 
the first glimpse of Beirout, far down by the sea-side, em- 
bowered among trees, some twenty-five miles off. The Me- 
diterranean looked so blue, that its color imperceptibly 
blended with the horizon, so as to make it impossible to 
tell where the sea ended and the sky began. The white 



A DESCRIPTION BY THE PSALMIST. 505 

sails on the distant blue seemed to float sky-ward. Then 
thick vapor-clouds rolled up the mountain from the sea 
and hid all, and soon wrapped their dark dripping folds 
around us like a wet sheet. These condense and run in 
rapid streams down into the valley. After emerging out 
of them, green fields and villages without number came 
in sight. No penman Or poet could half so well describe 
all the beautiful details seen on and from this mountain, 
as the Psalmist. 

* " The waters stood above the mountains. 
At thy rebuke they fled ; 

At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. 
They go up by the mountains ; 
They go down by the valleys 

Unto the place which thou hast founded for them. 

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over, 

That they turn not again to cover the earth. 

He sendeth the springs into the valleys, 

Which run among the hills. 

They give drink to every beast of the field: 

The wild asses quench their thirst. 

By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, 

Which sing among the branches. 

The trees of the Lord are full of sap ; 

The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted: 

Where the birds make their nests: 

As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house. 

The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, 

And the rocks for the conies. 

So is this great and wide sea, 

Wherein are things creeping innumerable, 

Both small and great beasts. 

There gc the ships ; 

There is that leviathan, 

Whom thou hast made to play therein." 

Psalm 104. 

43 



506 ROADS ACROSS THE LEBANON. 



The path on the west side of Lebanon is almost im- 
passable. Although the great thoroughfare between 
Beirout and Damascus, it looks as if wear and the weather 
had had all their own way for centuries. Certainly none 
but Arab horses could carry a man over such break-neck 
roads without the risk of limb and life. At some places 
the earth was all washed from the ledges of rocks, leaving 
steps two and three feet high, and these our poor animals 
had to span descending a steep mountain. Then the 
path led through ravines, whose beds were covered with 
round stones which rolled from under the horses' tread 
like cannon balls. We sometimes walked, but this was 
not an easy task either. Caravans going to Damascus, 
met us in deep narrow gullies, not wide enough for their 
pack-horses to pass, which threw them into confusion, 
and brought upon us not the most amiable epithets. 
Over such roads our poor animals labored with their 
burdens down the Lebanon for a half a day ; now de- 
scending into a ravine, then clambering out of it, always 
hoping to be nearing the foot of the mountain, and still 
meeting new hills and ravines to cross. At noon we 
spread our rug in a khan by the wayside, in which we 
sought shelter from a shower. On a raised hearth in the 
wall a fire was burning, whose smoke tried to work itself 
through a small hole near it, and out of doors, as best it 
could without a chimney ; the greater part however was 
retained for our benefit. The wood-work of the low ceil- 
ing (the roof was made of brushwood and plastered), was 
charred like a smoke-house. After sipping at a cup of 
the keeper's cloudy coffee, we mounted our horses for the 
last time. At length the top of the last hill at Lebanon's 
base is reached. For an hour we rode through continu- 
ous orchards of mulberry, pomegranates, with beautiful 



BEIROUT. 



507 



pink blossoms, and prickly pear like mammoth cactus 
plants, pendent with gay cup-shaped flowers. Olive 
groves, pine forests, orange and lemon gardens, figs, 
almonds and apricots, spread over the plain in profuse 
variety. There is an Arabian proverb : " Lebanon wears 
winter on its head, spring upon its shoulders, autumn in 
its bosom, and summer sleeps at its feet." Passing from 
the cold bleak summit to this garden-spot, teeming with 
tropical luxuriance, we found it to be literally true. Near 
the edge of the city we met two girls, dressed in light 
pink frocks and long white veils, coming out to the spring 
with their water-pots. Trees and all manner of flowers 
filled the air with sweetest fragrance, which the gentle 
sea-breeze wafted toward the mountain. We took up 
our quarters in the Hotel Bellevue, on the sea coast, about 
ten minutes below Beirout. Fatigue and exhaustion had 
banished hunger ; this last was one of the hardest days on 
our whole journey. 

A hotel may have less poetry than a tent, but it cer- 
tainly possesses greater comforts. Here we rested four 
days, inhaling the exhilarating sea-breeze, watching the 
breakers dashing on the rough beach, and laving the 
cells and caves which perforate the rocky coast. Swallows 
twittered around our tables and over our chamber win- 
dows. And'these green leafy orchards, which embrace 
Beirout with its white houses, in the arms of life, afforded 
a charming view from the verandah of our hotel. And 
the grand amphitheatre which the Lebanon forms around 
the city, with villages and green fields smiling down from 
every bluff and hill-top, presents one of the most pictu- 
resque mountain scenes which the eye of man can be- 
hold. Orchards, vineyards, villages and their surround- 
ing cultivated plots, are strewn from the base to the top, 



508 



B EIR UT. 



rising and receding dimly in the cloudy distant height. 
This western side of Lebanon is as well cultivated as the 
mountains of Switzerland. Every accessible spot, how- 
ever small, that can be cleared of its stones, must bear 
its few stalks of wheat or grass. Down in the large 
valleys of Galilee and Samaria, teeming with spontaneous 
fertility, the lazy Arabs are half starved with thousands 
of untilled acres around them. Here where rocks and 
a meagre soil prevail, in places which plough and beast 
can scarcely reach, you discover universal marks of 
industry and comfort, and see these hardy mountaineers, 

" Their stormy mansions tread, 
And force a churlish soil for scanty bread/' 

Beirout is most probably the Berothai from which 
David took much brass after he had conquered these 
northern cities. 2 Sam. 8 : 8. The Berothah mentioned 
in Ezekiel 47 : 16, may refer to the same city. Its loca- 
tion would naturally make it a prominent sea-port of the 
Phoenicians. During the prosperous period of that an- 
cient people, this charming plain must have been even 
more densely settled and better improved than now. 
Where good harbors are so scarce as along this Phoeni- 
cian coast, they would not be likely to leave such a point 
unimproved. The city has no connection with Gospel 
history. 

Beirout has been made the centre of the Syrian Mis- 
sionary operations. Here and at Damascus, and at in- 
termediate villages, American missionaries have labored 
with signal success. On the Sabbath we spent in Beirout, 
Dr. Thomson, author of The Land and the Book, preached 
an interesting sermon on Exodus 17 : 15-16, in which he 
reviewed the twenty-five years of his labor in this city. 



THE MAEONITES. 



509 



"A quarter of a century ago," lie said, " on a blustery 
February morning, the ship that bore me to Beirout 
landed on yonder shore. Then Beirout had but six or 
eight thousand inhabitants ; now it has 50,000. Then 
there were no Protestant Christians here, and I had to 
begin my labors in a small room in the same building in 
which we now worship. Then there was not a Protestant 
congregation in the Turkish Empire, and for a Moham- 
medan to become a Protestant was an offence punishable 
by death. Now there are many flourishing Protestant 
congregations in Syria and Palestine, and their members 
are respected. Then there were few schools, and none 
for females. Now we have flourishing schools, and female 
education is encouraged. My old associates and co-la- 
borers have all entered into their rest. Another genera- 
tion of workmen has taken the place of the departed, 
and I am left the solitary survivor of an army which has 
passed from a scene of militant trial into one of endless 
triumph." 

Beirout became the protector and feeder of the be- 
reaved and famishing surviving Christians who escaped 
in the late war. The Maronites, who were the greatest 
sufferers, are supposed to have descended from the an- 
cient Syrians. They speak the Arabic, but their Litur- 
gical worship is in the old Syrian language. They claim 
to be a separate nation, and boast of their political inde- 
pendence, giving nothing to the Turkish government but 
their annual tribute. They are governed by Sheikhs, 
selected from their prominent families, who constitute 
their nobility. They have a separate ecclesiastical com- 
munity, which elects its own head, called " the Patriarch 
of Antioch," who usually resides in the Cenobian Con- 
vent on the Lebanon. In 1445, they placed themselves 
43* 



510 



THE DRUSES. 



under the jurisdiction of the Pope, who ratifies the elec- 
tion of their Patriarch. In 1584, Gregory XIII. founded 
a Maronite College in Rome, from which they have since 
received the most of their priests. They have, however, 
never fully coalesced with the Papal church. The Popes 
have allowed them, as well as their other Oriental 
branches, to retain a number of their traditional usages. 
Their priests are permitted to marry, and they receive 
the Lord's Supper in both kinds, (bread and wine, the 
same as Protestants). They have no disciplined soldiery, 
and although nearly twice as numerous as the Druses, 
(about 200,000,) they were not equal to their enemies in 
battle. 

The Druses are Arabs, who came from the eastern con- 
fines of Syria, and settled in Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, 
within the last 900 years. They are neither Mohamme- 
dans nor Christians. One of their religious books calls 
Mohammed "a Satan and a bastard," and declares the 
Gospel to be true. It is said that their founder held that 
the Divine Being became incarnate in a visible form. But 
they are so perfectly isolated, and keep their religious 
tenets and practices so profoundly secret, that very little 
is known of them. For this reason, Mohammedans say 
they have no religion. They number a population of 
about 100,000, who chiefly live on the Lebanon. 

Mountains inspire their inhabitants with a love of 
liberty, and the bravery to achieve it, as the history of 
Switzerland and Scotland shows. The pure mountain air 
of Lebanon has nursed and nurtured them into natural 
warriors, whose prowess the Turks greatly dread. They 
are evermore struggling for political independence. Their 
well-drilled army of 20,000 or 25,000 men, is under the 
control of brave and skillful officers, chiefs chosen from 



AN ARAB HORSE. 



511 



their old men whose experience has trained and inured 
them to the art and hardships of war. They are a sober, 
active, and hard-working people, fierce, and proverbially 
proud, resenting the slightest insult with the dagger. 
They disdain the dull monotonous life of the valleys. 

"An iron race the mountain cliffs maintain, 
Foes to the gentler genius of the plain." 

On a journey of this kind, one becomes attached to all 
that have served and followed him, both man and beast. 
Not without a pang of regret could I look for the last 
time upon the graceful dapple-grey which had carried me 
from Jerusalem to Beirout. Many a mountain we climbed 
together, and, with a single exception, his foot never 
failed him, nor his speed either, when he was left to have 
his own way. Along precipices where a single mis-step 
might have resulted in instant death, he cautiously tripped 
as if conscious that he held a human being on his back. 
No Bedouin Barabbas could put his plundering hand 
into my pocket, or his steel into my heart, if it was in 
the power of his metal or speed to prevent it. Once I 
was greatly horrified at the farce of St. Antonio's Church 
in Borne, where a tittering priest blessed horses and 
mules, and sprinkled them with holy water. Despite the 
memory of that sacred mockery, I cherish such a kindly 
feeling for that Arabian horse, that if a prayer of my 
heart could secure to him the happiest life which his kind 
has the capacity to e*njoy, I would be tempted to offer it 
in his behalf. 

Mohammed came one morning to give us his parting 
salaam. He is a man of few words, slow to speak, and 
quick to hear. Whether from stoicism, or the grace of 
patience, he possesses a marvellous power of endurance, 



512 



OUR COOK. 



and always seems to act from a stern sense of duty. Often 
I pitied him, when, after a tedious day's journey, he had 
to perform his cooking duties, scour, and wash dishes till 
near midnight. When the Bedouins were crouched around 
their fires smoking, and Ahmed lying in his tent, and we 
taking a siesta, or watching the stars, and talking of 
home, he killed the chickens or a lamb, nursed his dishes, 
or prepared them for the next day. He thoroughly un- 
derstood his profession. It was often a marvel to me 
where he got the wherewith to prepare all the excellent 
dishes with which he supplied us. As soon as we reached 
the destination of our day's journey, he would quickly 
fan the charcoal in his little stove into a flame, and very 
soon came Firage with coffee — none of your Turkish 
nondescript, as cloudy as the politics of the Sultan, but 
clear, settled, richly-flavored coflee, such as an American 
matron could scarcely excel. Then, alas, for the poor 
fowl or sheep that would come within reach of his knife. 
The table set, he would send in course after course, lamb, 
fowl, gazelle, ham (which as a Mohammedan he would 
only touch from a sense of professional duty, but not 
taste) ; together with puddings and pastries of the rarest 
kind. Commit yourself to a camel's back for ten hours 
in the Arabian desert, and my word for it you will be in 
a condition to appreciate such a table. One of the best 
compliments this faithful servant received from me, was 
my physical expansion. When we reached Beirout, I 
weighed one hundred and ninety pounds, twenty-five 
more than I had ever reached before. Ahmed gave him 
thirty-five dollars a month to cook for us, and thirty dol- 
lars to pay his expenses home. When a child, his parents 
had one of his eyes destroyed to save him from military 
service. He has a wife and three children in Cairo. He is a 



OUR DRAGOMAN. 



513 



man of a very equable temper, having, to my knowledge, 
laughed only twice during the two months and a half 
since we left Cairo. As a mark of kindly remembrance, 
each of us gave him a Napoleon (nearly four dollars), 
besides a number of half-worn garments. His pock- 
marked face twitched with emotion as he laid his hand 
into mine, and called upon Allah to carry me safely over 
the great waters to my home. 

Firage, our Nubian waiter, black as a hat, was a jolly, 
genuine negro, from Ethiopia, the land of negroes, twelve 
or fourteen years of age. He was remarkably " clever," 
as some of our English friends said, who were so well 
pleased with him that they made efforts to buy or beg 
him from Ahmed and take him to England. He was 
always inventing something for our comfort. The first 
herald of the rising sun was the coal-black head of 
Firage, thrust through the opening of the tent-door, 
showing his ivory teeth, and bidding us " Good morning ! " 
which was about the extent of his acquirements in the 
English language. Ahmed keeps him, has a concern for 
his good training, and says he has a black girl which, in 
a few years, he will give him to wife, if he wants her. 

The man on whom we were the most dependent was 
our dragoman, Ahmed Saide. For an unlettered man, 
he is remarkably intelligent and eminently shrewd. He 
fulfilled the contract we had made with him, and did 
well by it. He is a faithful servant, whom I can recom- 
mend to any of my countrymen who may stand in need 
of his services. 

At length the French steamer Samois arrives, which 
is to carry us back to France. For the benefit of the 
curious, I would state that our fare from here to Mar- 
seilles was 582 francs — a little over $116. A French 

2h 



514 



A FRENCH STEAMER. 



steamer on the Mediterranean and a tent on the plains 
of Arabia are two different things. Arrived on board, 
we found the deck peopled with three or four hundred 
Mecca pilgrims, while the so-called first-class passengers 
were stowed away, four in each small state-room of eight 
feet square. The pilgrims covered the deck with a 
scent and scene more picturesque than pleasant. During 
the day they could stand and shift about, and after night 
they sought to recline by wedging themselves in spoon- 
fashion. Meanwhile the ship pitched and rolled at a 
fearful rate, riddling the sleepers together, like wheat in 
a sieve : the solid grain sinking beneath, leaving the 
lighter chaff on the top. Many were the complaints and 
demurrings, until all found their proper level. In spite 
of their closely-packed condition, they managed to find 
room to say their prayers. At their meals, a group 
would settle in a narrow circle around a dish of rice ; 
and some munched their bread, sitting on a rug or lean- 
ing against a mast. 

Our steamer sailed at 8 p. M., so that we passed off 
Tyre and Sidon after night. Sidon is about thirty miles 
south of Beirout, on the sea-coast, and Tyre, some twenty- 
five miles south of Sidon. This strip of land along the 
sea was ancient Phoenicia — a great commercial nation, 
by whose wealth and influence these two cities were pro- 
duced. Before the days of David and Solomon they were 
already prosperous and mighty cities, whose decline^com- 
menced "before antiquity began." They were famous 
for their costly and rare manufactures. The Tyrian 
purple is praised by the most ancient writers. The 
heroines of Homer were arrayed in robes 

' ' Which from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore, 
With Helen, .touching on the Tyrian shore." 



TYRE AND SIDON. 



515 



One says : 

"I too from glorious Sidon came, 
Famous for wealth by dyeing earn'd." 

So too Homer sings of 

"Belts, 

That, rich with Tyrian dye, refulgent glowed." 

These were the parent cities of Carthage and Cadiz, 
the queens of ancient commerce — proverbial for their 
luxury and magnificence. Tyre, being always mentioned 
first in order, must have been the most powerful of the 
two, but perhaps the younger. For a colony from Sidon 
is said to have founded Tyre two hundred and forty years 
before the building of Solomon's temple. In the division 
of the land by Joshua, it was already called " the strong 
city of Tyre." Joshua 19 : 29. Hiram, King of Tyre, 
was a friend of David and Solomon, and sent his servants 
to "hew cedar-trees out of Lebanon," and float them 
down here to Joppa (1 Kings 5) ; he also sent his ser- 
vants with Solomon's fleet from Ezion-Geber, at the Gulf 
of Akaba, to Ophir, to bring gold for the use of the 
King of Israel. 1 Kings 9 : 27. So great was her com- 
mercial influence that the isles of the sea shook at the 
sound of her fall. Ezekiel 26 : 15. 

About half-way between Tyre and Sidon, on this Phoe- 
nician coast, is the modern village of Surafend, conse- 
crated and conspicuous by the white domes rising over 
the graves of Mohammedan saints. This is the Zare- 
phath, where Elijah multiplied the widow's meal and the 
"little oil in the cruse." 1 Kings 17; Luke 4 : 26. 
In later times, one greater than Elijah showed a miracu- 
lous kindness to another woman in this region. The 
only miracle which Christ performed on Gentile territory 



516 



DEPARTED GLORY. 



was in the curing of the Syrophcenician woman's daugh- 
ter on the " borders of Tyre and Sidon." Mark 7: 24-30. 
Coming from Greece to Jerusalem, Paul tarried at Tyre 
seven days. A solemn interview, and a still more solemn 
parting, occurred. The brethren accompanied him, with 
their " wives and children, till they were out of the city." 
There they "kneeled down on the shore, and prayed." 
Acts 21 : 4, 5. After that, the ship that took him to 
Italy, as a prisoner, touched at Sidon, where he received 
"liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself." Acts 
27 : 3. The celebrated church-father Origen is said to 
lie buried at Tyre ; and beneath the ruins of its ancient 
cathedral repose the bones of the great German emperor, 
Frederick Barbarossa. 

These cities, like many others, have become the melan- 
choly monuments of the inevitable ruin which sin entails, 
as well as a testimony to the divine inspiration of pro- 
phecy. Tyre has shrunken and shrivelled into a peasant 
village, and Sidon retains a population of from eight to 
ten thousand. The glory and power of their ancient 
manufactures and commerce have departed ; the pride 
and pomp of their merchant princes vanished, and the 
spectral shadow of their history lingers among the broken 
columns and crumbling walls that strew their coast. The 
harbors in which the sails of all civilized nations fluttered 
3000 years ago, and where cargoes of gold were unloaded, 
are dreary and deserted. The sounds of music and of 
mirth, and the gaudy festive throngs have given place to 
owls hooting among their ruins, and eagles perched on 
lofty rocks. As Gibbon says : "A mournful and solitary 
silence now prevails along the shore which once resounded 
with the world's debate." Tyre, the home " of sea-faring 
men," has not a ship whose keel ploughs the sea. Her 



CESAREA. 



517 



"towers" are broken down, and her shattered walls of 
dried brick have mouldered back to earth. Her few in- 
habitants scrape together a meagre subsistence by fishing, 
and a little farming. Her rock-girt coast, for she stood 
on an island, near the shore, once covered with the proud 
palaces of her princes, is now " a place for the spread- 
ing of nets in the midst of the sea," on which the modern 
Syrians dry their fishing-nets. Ezekiel 26 : 5, and 14. 
Thus has come to pass what the prophet foresaw and 
foretold when Tyre and Sidon were still the pride of the 
sea, 2500 years ago. 

On the following morning we passed in sight of Mount 
Carmel, and some thirty-five or forty miles north of 
Joppa, we got a distant glimpse of the site of Cesarea, 
where good Cornelius fasted, prayed, and gave alms. 
Here Peter preached his first sermon to the Gentiles, and 
bade the first non-Jewish converts "to be baptized."' 
Acts 10. It was the Roman capital of Palestine, the 
residence of Roman procurators, where Vespasian was 
declared emperor. Here Eusebius, the ancient church 
historian, was born, and Origen wrote many of his com- 
mentaries at Cesarea. After his conversion, Paul came 
to Jerusalem and " spake boldly in the name of the Lord 
Jesus," which provoked a persecution, and " the brethren 
brought him down to Cesarea, and sent him forth to 
Tarsus." Acts 9 : 29, 30. Here lived "Felix, the gov- 
ernor," to whom he was afterwards brought from Jerusa- 
lem for trial ; where he preached before him and his wife 
Drusilla, reasoning of "righteousness, temperance, and 
judgment to come," with such pungency and fearless 
power that the dissolute and tyrannical governor trem- 
bled with a sense and terror of his sins. Acts 24 : 24, 25. 
After being imprisoned two years at Cesarea, Porcius 
44 



518 



PAUL'S PREACHING. 



Festus came into Felix's room. He gave Paul a hearing 
in the presence of Agrippa and Bernice, before whom he 
preached that model sermon, pointed, yet courteous, con- 
tained in the 26th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. 
Festus, being no longer able to restrain himself, cried out 
with a loud voice : " Paul, thou art beside thyself ; much 
learning doth make thee mad." The bold Apostle replied : 
"King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know 
that thou believest." This direct appeal to the prophets, 
after showing that they had foretold the life, death, and 
resurrection of Christ, was more than Agrippa could 
resist. His mind was convinced but his heart not con- 
quered, and he said unto Paul : " Almost thou persuadest 
me to be a Christian." From Cesarea Paul is taken in 
a ship as a prisoner to Rome. Here, too, lived Pontius 
Pilate, from where he came up to attend the annual festi- 
vals at Jerusalem ; and in the theatre which his father 
built in Cesarea, "the angel of the Lord smote Herod" 
because he arrogated divine honor, where he was " eaten 
of worms and gave up the ghost." Acts 12 : 22, 23. 
Here, too, lived Philip, the evangelist, whose daughters 
"did prophesy," and in whose house Paul abode. Acts 
21. And the same Philip, after he had instructed and 
baptized the Ethiopian eunuch near Gaza, "was found at 
Azotus, and passing through, he preached in all the cities 
(along the coast of the Mediterranean) till he came to 
Cesarea." Acts 8. 

On Pentecost the Holy Ghost was first poured out 
upon a Jewish assembly through the preaching of Peter 
at Jerusalem; and by the preaching of the same Peter 
He was first poured out upon the Gentiles at Cesarea. 
Here the middle wall of partition was first broken down, 
and Jewish prejudices were conquered by the power of 



J P P A. 



519 



the Gospel, which is alike free and adequate to save the 
Jew and the Gentile, the bond and the free. No city in 
Palestine is more extensively associated vrith primitive 
Christianity than Cesarea, for here vrere gathered the 
first fruits of the Gospel among the Gentiles ; and yet 
no city connected with that interesting period is so en- 
tirely deserted* and in ruins. No hamlet or hut marks 
the site of Pilate's home, and not a solitary human being 
lingers among the broken relics of its departed glory. 
As in the Roman Forum, " the ground is strewn with 
history;" richly carved broken columns are washed by 
the waves along the shallow beach, and the streets, once 
alive with a gallant soldiery and ail the paraphernalia of 
regal pomp and power, are now covered with the undis- 
tinguishable ruins of prostrate temples, palaces, and 
theatres, fragments of which an occasional small ship 
carries off to- Joppa or elsewhere to build modern dwell- 
ings. No city along the whole sea-coast presents such a 
scene of absolute desertion and desolation as the home 
of Pontius Pilate and Herod Agrippa — the one the judge 
who condemned Jesus Christ to be crucified, the other 
the first king who officially condemned a Christian 
(James) to martyrdom; for Stephen was not judicially 
condemned, but slain by a Jewish mob. Acts 12 : 2. 

In about eighteen hours after leaving Beirout we 
reached the harbor of Jaffa (Joppa). Our arrival threw 
the crowded deck into a swarm. Jews and Moslems 
scrambled for their baggage, over bales, boxes, and 
bodies ; shrivelled old women stooping over the port-hole 
at the imminent peril of their lives, and screamed towards 
the bottom of the boat for their goods. It was a tumult- 
uous scene, inferior only to that of the high sea in the 
harbor, which would not allow us to land. A few small 



520 



J PP A. 



boats ventured ashore with passengers, which gallopped 
over the tossing waves, sometimes almost standing on-end, 
at others nearly hid between the waves. Here we tarried 
half a day, thinking and reading of Jonah, Tabitha, and 
Peter. Along " the sea-side" are still a number of tan- 
neries, one of which tradition points out as the house of 
Simon the tanner. Acts 10 : 6. Whether it be the identi- 
cal house I will not say ; but it must have been here- 
abouts, for it was "by the sea-side." Tanneries being a 
species of nuisance in the East, are not often allowed to 
be removed into new localities. They are permanent 
fixtures in oriental cities, from which it is naturally and 
reasonably inferred that Simon the tanner must have had 
his establishment at the same place. " Lydda was nigh 
to Joppa," where Peter healed Eneas of the palsy. He 
preached the Gospel through this region until all that 
dwelt at Lydda and Saron turned to the Lord. Thither 
they sent for Peter when the beneficent Dorcas had died 
at Joppa, whom he restored to life. Acts 9. 

Joppa is one of the oldest cities in Palestine, if not in 
the world. When Joshua divided Canaan among the 
twelve tribes, he gave Jopha (Joppa) to Dan. Joshua 
19 : 46. From remotest antiquity it was the principal 
sea-port of Canaan, as it is to this day. Though thirty 
miles distant, it was the nearest port to Jerusalem. In 
building the temple, Solomon brought wood from Lebanon 
to this harbor. "We will bring it to thee in floats by 
sea to Joppa, and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem." 
2 Chron. 2 : 16. When Ezra rebuilt the temple, he again 
brought " cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea (harbor) 
of Joppa" Ezra 3:7. It now is the only sea-port, of 
any importance, in Palestine. All persons going to Jeru- 
salem by sea, land here ; and all its merchandise is brought 



J P P A . 



521 



through, this port. The increase of traffic and travel has 
given it a new impulse, and of late years increased its 
population to 15,000, a number equal to that of the Holy 
City itself. 

Joppa is built on a ledge of rocks which projects into 
the sea. On this it recedes and rises from the coast, 
assuming somewhat the shape of a cone, around which 
large gardens of orange, citron, and pomegranate trees 
spread. No oranges are so luscious, rich in flavor and 
juicy, as these at Joppa. From our steamer in the harbor, 
its snow-white houses and green groves gave it the ap- 
pearance of a fairy city, where the air is redolent with 
sweetest odors, and the eye is charmed by every color 
and element of natural beauty. These, together with the 
large yellow fruit pendent from every limb, half hid among 
the dark green leaves, reminded me more than any 
other country outside of Italy, of Schiller's couplet 

"Keimst du das Land wo die Citronen bllihen, 
Und wo im dunklen Laub die Gold-orangen gllihen ? " 

The harbor of Joppa is like a large boiling caldron, 
often in uproar and commotion when the sea is calm. It 
is rarely quiet enough for vessels to land their passengers. 
The " mighty tempest" which overtook Jonah here, could 
make terrible havoc with a sea that is rough enough in 
its calmest moods. While our ship lay at anchor, my 
imagination could see this fugitive prophet take his de- 
parture from here. In this harbor he met a ship going 
to Tarshish, perhaps the Tarsus of Paul. " He paid the 
fare and went down into it," just as people do now who 
travel on the sea. But why go to sleep in a storm ? 
Perfectly natural, which every poor tempest-tossed, sea- 
sick body will do. A rough sea and a rocking ship stir 
44* 



522 



UNCOMFORTABLE VOYAGING. 



up the bile, and produce drowsiness. I have seen a score 
of persons asleep on their seats and standing, an hour or 
two after the boat started, and often in the most violent 
storms. 

The insensibility which sleep affords, is a merciful pro- 
vision to all afflicted seafarers. If ever there was a 
being besides Sancho Panza who had reason to bless the 
inventor of sleep, the destroyer of panic and sorrow, it 
is the poor mortal who is rocked into this wave-ridden 
plight. And no sea has ever treated me as did this Me- 
diterranean. Its calms are storms, and its bumping waves 
give the ship an abrupt and rapid rocking motion, which 
the strongest and best acclimated seamen must often suc- 
cumb to. Those eleven days from Beirout to Marseilles, 
exceed everything in the whole range of my sea voyages. 
The debarking of our Moslem pilgrims at Alexandria, gave 
us more deck room, enough to perform all the sullen, ill- 
humored antics which the sea inspired. Strange deck 
scenes we had during that squally voyage. We roasted 
and groaned through long disgustful days in unconscious- 
ness, — a torpid, pouting, half-waking, half-dreaming 
state, filled with visions of the goodlier things of life on 
land, for whose enjoyment this pining ordeal was an effi- 
cient preparation. 

A ship or steamer in a storm is a grand sight. Taking 
your stand on the stern of a floating castle three hundred 
feet long, you are amazed at her defiant progress. Now 
rising on one end as she labors her way up a wave, then 
suddenly dropping on the other end in sliding down on 
the other side ; terrific masses of water dash over her 
deck ; far up on the sail-yards the sailors hang high in 
the howling tempest, singing their merry songs while they 
are taking in sails, and adjusting the ropes. The storm 



STORM AT SEA. 



523 



howls and rages in vain, for a man at the small wheel works 
the rudder which controls the mighty machinery, men, 
masts, and engine, and the ship sports triumphantly with 
wind and wave. Like the rudder of a ship, which turns 
and steers it through "fierce winds," " so the tongue is 
a little member, and boasteth great things." James 3 : 4, 5. 
Few persons possess the capacity to enjoy a storm at sea. 
The Psalmist must certainly have seen ships in a storm, 
and possibly even felt their motion, for he describes the 
scene in detail, even to the sea-sick passengers. 

" They that go down to the sea in ships, 
That do business in great waters ; 
These see the works of the Lord, 
And his wonders in the deep. 
For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, 
Which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
They (the ships) mount up to the heaven, 
They go down again to the depths ; 
Their soul is melted because of trouble. 

They reel to and fro, 

And stagger like a drunken man, 

Aud are at their wits' end. 
Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, 
And he bringeth them out of their distresses. 
He maketh the storm a calm, 
So that the waves thereof are still. 
Then are they glad because they be quiet; 
So he bringeth them unto their desired haven. " 

Psalm 107 : 23-30. 



524 



THE GREEK CHAPEL. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



Jituntoarit b^xtuit. 

"Immer, immer nach "West, 
Dort muss die Kuste sich Zeigen. 
Traue dem leitenden Gott." 

Schillek. 

The Greek chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 
at Jerusalem, contains a depression in the floor, a little 
hole in the pavement, which, these Christians say, 
marks the geographical centre of the earth. Possibly 
they were led to assume such a claim for their place of 
worship, from its nearness to Calvary and the Saviour's 
Sepulchre. Although their geography may be at fault, 
this pillar has a marked typical meaning. For so far as 
the facts and forces of Christianity can be historically 
localized, Jerusalem is both the starting point and centre 
of Christ's Kingdom on earth. It was here, where the 
temple altar flowed with typical blood for centuries, and 
sent up clouds of propitiatory incense to the God of 
Israel, that He crowned His sufferings and completed His 
atoning sacrifice. And among the last words which He 
spoke to his apostles after His resurrection were these ; 
" That repentance and remission of sins should be preached 
in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.'" 
Luke 24 : 47. 



COURSE OF CHRISTIANITY. 



525 



I have elsewhere spoken of the geographical adapta- 
tion of Palestine to be the nursery and central theatre of 
the earthly history of the Church of Christ, before and 
since His incarnation. The direction in which Christi- 
anity has mainly spread since the birth of Christ, fur- 
nishes an impressive illustration on this point. Our 
Saviour sent His apostles " into all the world " to proclaim 
His Gospel. Some went to Egypt, and others into 
Arabia. Down into the depths of the Asiatic and African 
continents the early heralds of the cross bore the tidings 
of salvation. For a while flourishing congregations were 
established and maintained in some parts of the East, of 
which all but their petrified and ossified relics have long 
since disappeared. At the same time Paul and Peter 
preached the Gospel and established churches westward, 
and these have propagated the leaven of Christianity 
still onward. In this direction the moulding stream of 
vital Church life has mainly flowed, and continues to flow. 

To evade the murderous designs of Herod, Joseph and 
Mary fled to Egypt with the infant Jesus. Geographi- 
cally it was a step backward in the course of Christian 
events. But it must needs be that the Messiah should 
in a certain sense commence His atoning career in the 
country whence, as the shekinah, He led His ancient peo- 
ple out of the house of bondage. Thus He hallowed the 
Morning Land, where Science, Art, and Civilization first 
dawned — where Homer, Plato, Xenophon, and even 
Moses, sat at the feet of Egypt's wisdom ; showing that 
He came not to destroy science, but to sanctify and per- 
fect it. But He could not remain or go further South and 
East. Thus when Israel was an infant nation, and when 
the Messiah was an infant Redeemer, they were both 
called out of Egypt. " When Israel was a child, then I 



526 



peter's vision. 



loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." Hosea 
11 : 1. " Out of Egypt have I called my son." Matt. 
2 : 15. 

The progress of Science, Civilization, and Religion, 
has always followed the course of the sun — Westward. 
From the East the star brought the Wise men in search 
of the new-born King at Bethlehem. During our Saviour's 
life and ministry His immediate mission was confined to 
Palestine — the ancient Land of Promise. His labors 
were specially directed to the lost sheep of the House of 
Israel. The instructions which He gave to His chosen 
apostles in sending them out were to the same effect. 
Matt. 10 : 5-6. This led Peter and some of the rest to 
adopt Judaizing views. They lost sight of the Saviour's 
prophetic remarks to the woman of Samaria, that the 
period was at hand when "neither in this mountain 
[Gerizim, where the Samaritans had their altar] nor yet 
at Jerusalem they should worship," but from that time 
on " the true worshippers should worship the father in 
spirit and in truth." John 4 : 21-23. Peter thought 
that all would have to become Jews, be circumcised, be- 
fore they could be received as Christians. To convince 
him that the Gentiles were also fit subjects for the re- 
demption of Christianity, God gave him a vision. One 
day at noon, he went on a quiet retired house-top to 
pray. Being at meal time he became hungry, and be- 
fore he received anything to eat fell into a trance. He 
saw a vessel descending froni heaven, containing all 
manner of beasts, among others such as the Jewish Law 
pronounced unclean. A voice told him to slay and eat, 
but with his Jewish notions he refused to comply. The 
voice told him not to call that unclean which God had 
cleansed. While thinking over the strange vision three 



PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 



527 



men. who had been sent hither from Cesarea by Cornelius, 
"stood before the gate and called, and asked whether 
Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there." 
(You still see persons calling with a loud voice at the 
doors of houses, inquiring after persons within). The 
apostle went with the messengers and on the second day 
they reached Cesarea, thirty-five miles from Joppa. 
Here the whole vision interpreted itself to Peter, and he 
preached his first sermon to a Gentile congregation in 
the house of Cornelius, composed of "his kinsmen and 
near friends." Acts 10. 

This vision of Peter at Joppa. showing him that " the 
field is the world," is very significant. It could not have 
happened with the same propriety anywhere else. Here, 
at the ancient and modern sea-port of Palestine — the 
extreme outpost of the Land of Promise, where Europe 
and Asia meet — the landing-point of the pilgrims coining 
to Jerusalem from the West ; the leaving-point for those 
who go away westward ; here, on a house-top by the sea- 
side, Peter looked up at the descending vision — looked, 
perhaps, with his face toward the setting sun — and 
read his first intelligible lesson in Catholic Christianity. 

Now the Gospel spread westward, to Asia Minor, 
Greece, and Europe. Paul, in chains, carried it to 
Malta, and thence to Eome. It spread north and west, 
in spite of the influx of the Barbarians. Along the Rhine 
to the Northern Ocean, over Gaul, across the Channel 
into Britain — westward still it moved. Then came the 
discovery of America, which reared the Cross on the 
shores of the American continent, upon which Europe 
poured her choicest subjects. Efforts were vainly made 
to begin in the west, and come eastward. Only the 
colonies on the Atlantic coast, however, succeeded. Ra- 



528 



STILL WESTWARD. 



pidly Christianity works its stream westward, across the 
Allegheny mountains ; rolls its vivifying streams athwart 
the Mississippi valley, over the Rocky Mountains, to the 
Pacific coast. There another powerful kingdom may be 
established, which will be to the isles in the Pacific, to 
China, Japan, and the vast, unexplored, benighted re- 
gions beyond, what Great Britain has been to America 
and the intervening islands. 

Thus has the course of Christianity followed the course 
of the sun. The star which guided the Wise Men from 
the East, has been going westward ever since, like the 
shekinah of the Israelites, leading the armies of God 
over Red Seas, and sterile deserts, and across mountains, 
evermore planting the flag of triumph on new fields of 
victory. 

" Westward the Star of Empire makes its way:" 

and it is, geographically, true, that Westward the Star 
of Christianity makes its way. Westward, through many 
centuries, it has been carried on the tide of commerce, 
by the waves of the sea and the storms of the air, from 
mountain to mountain, from sea to sea, from island to 
island, from continent to continent. And westward still 
it moves, with mysterious and resistless majesty and 
power. Not backward, but onward, it must go ; until, 
like the natural sun in his course, the Sun of Righteous- 
ness will have completed the circuit of the earth and 
shone upon every zone and clime ; when the sheet of 
Peter's vision will become a sheet of grace and glory, 
whose divine and infinite folds will encircle the earth. 
Then " the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, 
and all Israel shall be saved." 

All the missionary work which has thus far been ac- 



ALEXANDRIA. 



529 



conrplished in the East is simply to prepare the way and 
make straight the path" of coming final events — coming 
not from Europe or America directly, but coming from 
the East, from Empires still sitting in the region and 
shadow of death. This should not diminish our ardor in 
the cause of Foreign Missions, but rather increase it. 
It is a great honor even to labor as did John the Baptist 
— prepare the way of the Lord. Christians sometimes 
become discouraged with the limited success of the Fo- 
reign Missionary work. Hitherto it has been limited, 
and the final and complete results will only be fully seen 
and reaped at the sun-set of the world's history, when 
the star of Bethlehem shall again come from the East, 
leading the countless millions of her idolatrous subjects 
to bow around the Cross on Calvary. Then, instead of 
Baal, the impersonation of the natural sun, they will 
worship the God of gods, and Light of lights, and ascribe 
to "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise 
God, honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." 

The houses of Joppa were already lit up, its hill-sides 
gleaming with many lights, when our steamer swaggered 
out of the troubled harbor. The illuminated hill rising 
up from the sea, reminded me of Old Edinburgh after 
night, as seen from the new city, where the steep hill is 
hung with thousands of lights which look like lines of 
glimmering stars stretched along the heavens. We passed 
in sight of the land of the Philistines, but darkness hid 
its coast from our vision. At six the next morning: we 
reached Alexandria. Our steamer tarrying two days and 
a half here, we had an opportunity to see some more of 
the city. "When we arrived here three months before, 
everything appeared singular and novel. Now its streets 
45 " 2i 



530 



MARSEILLES. 



and customs seem as natural as those of Philadelphia or 
New York. 

Homeward-bound ! Yes, westward still our to'iling 
steamer works its way over the troubled sea. We touched 
at Malta, passed along the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia. 
Black clouds hung over the blue Sardinian hills, with 
here and there a fissure through which a seam of brilliant 
sunlight was pouring with dazzling effulgence. Then we 
coasted along the island of Corsica, and finally, after a 
voyage of eleven days, reached Marseilles, on a pleasant 
Sabbath morning. A considerable time elapsed until our 
steamer had worked itself through the crowded harbor 
to the quay. The examination of baggage by the custom- 
house officers detained us at the wharf until the middle 
of the forenoon. The few precious relics and mementoes 
of my journey were happily buried in an old camel sack, 
which they deemed it useless to examine. A friend, who 
was less fortunate, brought a few contraband Damascus 
shawls, for which he paid twelve dollars tribute. The city 
had quite a week-day appearance for the Lord's day, as 
all French cities have. But few stores were closed, and 
the streets were thronged with people of business and 
pleasure. 

Thus far on our homeward voyage we enjoyed the so- 
ciety and companionship of Mr. L and lady, from 

Connecticut, w T ho vainly sought a restoration of his health 
in an Eastern clime ; and Rev. W. Arthur and lady, from 
England. Mr. Arthur is a Wesleyan minister, and a 
distinguished writer — author of the Tongue of Eire, and 
of Italy in Transition, both works which have an exten- 
sive circulation in this country. In all my pilgrimage I 
met few men in whom genius and a meek Christian spirit 
were so beautifully blended. Our paths diverged here, 



CONCLUSION. 



531 



obliging us to part. On Monday morning, we gathered 
in an "upper room" in our hotel, spent a short season 
in singing and prayer, commending one another to the 
Keeper of us all, and beseeching Him to guide us to a 
happy meeting in the Jerusalem above, and then grasped 

hands, and sped away, Mr, M and myself towards 

Paris, and the rest tarried for a season in the south of 
France. 

Thus "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" meet and 
part. " I believe in the Communion of saints, the Resur- 
rection of the body, and the Life everlasting." 

"Noch in den letzten Ziigen werd ich lallen, 
Auf "Wiedersehen im ewigen Vaterland." 



IIEIGHTHS AND DEPTHS. 



Great Hermon. 10,000 feet high. 

Mount Sinai, (two highest peaks) 9,300 " " 

Jebel Mousa (traditional peak of the giving 

of the Law) 7,500 

Mount Serbal 6,759 

Convent of Sinai 5,452 

Baalbec 3,700 

Hebron 2,800 " 

Mount Gerizim 2,500 

Mount Ebal 2,500 

Bethlehem 2,500 " " 

Mount of Olives 2,398 

Damascus 2,300 

Jerusalem 2,200 

Mount Tabor 1,800 

Shechem 1,700 

Mount Carmel 1,700 

Nazareth 1,100 

Lake Merom 50 " " 

Lake of Genesaret (Sea of Galilee) 652 below the sea. 

Dead Sea 1,312 



( 532) 



TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED. 



Genesis. 



Chap. 






H 


OL, 


489 


12 


6, 


355 




3' 
llll 6, 


349 




34 


13 


300 




10 


293 
157 




11 


312 




18, 


216 


14 




313 




15 


489 




18 




1 ^ 


9 


489 


J. u 


7 14 


200 




12 


165 


1 




89 




1-7, 


426 


19 




313 




1, 


246 




26, 


312 


22 




239 


23 




211 


24 




493 
-204 




18, 


356 


26 




203 




12, 


454 




33, 


202 


28 


349 




10, 


204 


29 


13, 


117 




26. 


493 


30 


35, 


280 


31 


40, 


206 


32 


10, 


301 




17, 


304 




45* 







Genesis. 




Chap. 


Terse. 


Pase. 


33 


4, 


117 




18-20, 


355 


35 




330 




14, 15, 


350 


36 


8, 


184 


37 




356 




24, 


347 




25, 


161 


41 




49 




14, 


45 




42, 


175 




45, 


48 




50, 


49 


48 


7, 


330 


49 




431 




14, 15, 


430 




21, 


406 




29, 


172 




31, 


211 




Exodus. 




2 


16, 


148 


3 


1, 


149 




5, 


138 


4 


27, 


118 


5 


7, 


56 


8 


16, 


56 


9 


31, 32, 


75 


10 


21, 


39 


11 


5, 


391 


12 


38, 


162 




39, 


98 


14 




98 




2 


93 


15 




96 




22, 23, 


102 



Exodus. 



Chap. 




Page 


15 


27 


104 


16 


~g 


78 




IS, 


116 


17 




11s 




O Q 
Z, 0, 


1 OA 




11-16 


126 


18 


! j 


118 


19 




134 






145 




4 


407 




10. 14 


135 


23 


4 


367 


9fi 


181 


32 


20 


136 




Leviticus. 




11 


13, 


406 


13 




333 




45, 46, 


333 


14 




333 


19 


32, 


45 


23 




59 




Numbers. 




6 


5, 


45 


10 


35, 36, 


147 


11 


4, 5, 


78 


12 


1, 


153 




10, 


334 


13 




201 




23; 


215 


14 




201 




40-45 


201 


20 


1, 


201 




IT, 


198 




23. 24, 


196 




(533) 





534 TEXTS OF 



SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED, 



Numbers. 



Chap 


Verse. 


Page. 


20 


27, 


197 




28, 


187 


21 


4, 


179 




5, 


120 




6, 


154 




16, 


204 


22 




302 


24 




303 


32 


1-5, 


433 


33 


10, 


109 




35, 


159 


34 


11, 


442 


35 


19, 


163 




Deuteronomy. 


2 


5, 


179 




5, 


184 


3 


9, 


467 




17, 


443 




25-27, 


304 




25, 


468 




27, 28, 


857 


4 


43, 


432 




48, 


467 


8 


7-9, 


470 




15, 


154 


11 


10, 11, 


77 




11, 12, 


469 




14, 


278 


18 


10, 


425 


21 


17, 


181 


22 


10, 


258 


24 


6, 


391 


25 


o 


66 




18^ 


160 


27 


304 


28 


24, 


56 


29 


5, 


219 


32 


1-12, 


407 




10, 


100 


33 




431 




19, 


435 


34 


308 




3, 


288 




Joshua. 




2 


15-22, 


294 


3 




301 



Joshua. 



Chap. 


Terse. 


Page. 


3 


15, 


300 


4 




294 


5 




294 




14-16, 


289 


6 


20, 


289 




29, 


289 


8 




288 


9 


33, 


■357 


10 




314 


11 




461 




13, 14, 
3, 


348 


12 


442 


13 


27, 


442 




30, 


438 


17 


1, 


433 




5-11, 


431 


19 


18, 


430 




21, 


371 




29, 


515 




35, 


443 




46 


520 


20 


8; 


432 


21 


27, 


432 




29, 


371 


24 


32, 


856 




Judges. 




1 


16, 


288 




31, 


402 


3 


13, 


288 




31 


332 


4 




429 


6 




422 


6 


19, 


427 




33-35, 


423 


8 


21, 22, 


423 




26,' 


352 


9 




858 




15, 


500 


11 


34, 


111 


13 




45 


15 


285 




n, 


217 


16 


21, 


391 


18 




465 




30, 31, 


465 


21 


19, 


351 




25, 


472 







Ruth. 




Chap. 




A'erse. 


Page 


2 




3, 


326 


4 




11, 


246 




1 


Samuel. 




i 
l 






Q^l 

ool 


7 




e 




1 A 




1 7 
1 1 1 


o4o 






OC 
ZD, 


€>4o 


11 




1-11, 


AOQ 
QZo 






10, 


Zvi 


1 o 
1Z 




1 7 
J- ' , 


Zl\) 


1 s 




Ol 

Zl, 


ooZ 


lo 




A 7 

b, i, 


111 
111 


O 1 

Zi 






oo<± 


22 




1 9 










IV i 


OA 
Z'k 






Q 1 A 


Ok 
ZD 






OA7 
Z\J 1 


26 




• 


1 / O 








459 


28 






425 






24, 


427 


29 




1, 


424 


30 




17, 


214 


31 






383 




2 


Samuel. 




1 




i n 07 
iv— Z i , 


AOQ 
4zo 






Zo, 


4Ub 


4 




12, 


Ol A 

Zlv 


5 






QA A 














n 
i , 


ZOO 






23, 24, 


331 


6 




11, 


31 


7 




326 


8 




6, 


489 






o 

o, 


c An 


lo 




30, 


267 


lb 




Zo i 






9, 


55 


17 






305 






1 /, 


ZOv 


19 




8, 


246 






15-40, 


294 


21 




6, 


348 






12-15, 


428 


23 






314 



TEXTS OF 



SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED. 



535 





2 Samuel. 




Chap. 




Pa^e 


23 


4, 


208 






326 




1 Kings. 




1 


9 } 


259 


2 


16, 


258 


3 


4-14 


348 


4 


33, 


154 






500 


5 




500 




6 


515 


6 


7 } 


253 


7 


2 


495 


9 


18' 


495 




27 


515 


10 


27 


290 


11 




262 




24' 


489 




43 


258 


12 


28, 


137 






350 


16 


24, 


363 


17 




515 




5, 6, 


287 


18 


13-40 


395 




40, 


396 




46^ 


397 


19 


149 




4 


108 




9' 


130 




lo! 16 


404 




19,' 


320 




19-21, 


378 


20 


23, 


365 


O 1 


1 

1, 


ore 
i 






AO A 
4Z4 


90 


48, 


lOo 




2 Kings. 




1 


8 


396 




9 


404 


8 


ll' 


174 


4 


379 




8-10, 


377 


5 


7, 


333 




12, 


490 




27, 


334 


6 


29, 


365 


8 


13, 


55 





2 Kings. 




Chap 




Pa°-e 


9 


30 


Al 7 


14 




190 




28,' 


489 


18 




364 




17, 


261 


20 


20, 


251 


23 


10, 


260 




15, 16, 


350 




Chronicles. 


1 n 


12, 


428 




40, 


431 


01 
41 




241 


2 


Chronicles. 


2 


16, 


520 


12 


4 ? 


325 


18 


9) 


246 


.26 


10, 


398 




20, 


334 


32 


30 


251 


35 




383 






430 




Ezra. 




3 


7, 


520 




Nehemiah. 






14, 


257 


3 


15, 


257 


8 


15, 


277 


9 


38, 


175 




Esther. 




q 



12, 


175 




Job. 




5 


10, 


469 


Q 


15-18, 


398 


9 


7, 8, 


156 


39 


10, 


462 




19-25, 


368 




27-30, 


407 


A A 
40 


17-23, 


462 


A 1 


24, 


391 




Psalms. 




8 




213 


22 


12, 


432 


23 


2 


119 





Psalms. 




Chap. 


Yerse. 


Page. 


zo 


A 


9nfi 

zoo 


A9 




4UO 






1 7Q 

i ^ y 


AP. 


A 
4, 


9 JO 


48 


9 
Z, 


9fi8 




9 3 
Z, <5, 


9^0 




19 13 
1Z, id, 


947 
Z4/ 


^7 




390 


oy 


D, 


OO 




19 13 
±z, lo, 


91 O 


fi8 

DO 


1 ^ 1 fi 
IO, ID, 


o4o 


fiQ 

oy 


1 9 


9ifi 
Z40 


79 


a 

D, 


908 


7Q 


1 

I, 


ZO I 


87 


1 

1, 


qiq 




' » 


343 


80 


1 9 


43^ 


no 
0-1 


1 9 


^0 
oy 


1 Oq 
lUo 


O, 


4UO 




1 A 


ono 


1 01 


fi 9^ 


ouo 




1 fi 
I O, 


^00 
ouu 




1 8 

1 0, 


qi a 

14 


1 07 


93 30 


^93 




39 


1 0^ 

1UO 


1 08 
lUo 


i n 


iyi 


I 1 Q 

I I y 


1 7fi 


981 


1 Of) 


A 

4, 


1 ns 


1 — 1 




o4o 




b 


1 zlO 






4oy 


1 99 




o4o 




q 
0, 


9fi9 






9^0 


125 


2' 


262 


133 




468 


142 




329 


149 




112 


150 




112 



Proverbs. 

20 4, 320 

26 1, 279 

30 19, 406 

31 19, 315 



ECCLESIASTES. 

2 5, 6, 217 

11 1, 74 



536 TEXTS OF 



SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED. 



ECCLESIASTES. 





Verse. 


Page. 


11 


4, 


320 


12 


4, 


390 




6, 


76 




11, 


332 


Song 


of Solomon. 


2 


8, 9, 


405 




11-13, 


277 




17, 


405 


3 


5, 


406 




6, 


208 


4 


8, 


468 




12, 


217 




15, 


500 


5 


2, 


264 


7 


4, 


494 




7, 


59 


8 


11, 


495 




Isaiah. 




1 


6, 


333 




6, 7, 


414 


2 




343 




4, 


320 




13, 


500 


4 


6, 


177 


7 


3, 


261 




8, 


490 


8 


4, 


490 


9 


1, 


445 




10, 


290 


10 


9, 


490 




33, 


260 




34, 


500 


12 


3, 


249 


14 


8, 


500 


16 


1, 


190 


19 


5, 6, 


. 78 




8, 


77 




18, 19, 


48 




25, 


81 


21 


11, 


182 


22 


9, 


261 


28 


17, 


296 


32 


2, 


203 


33 


9, 


500 


34 




184 


35 


1, 


50 



2, 398 





Isaiah. 




Chap. 


Verse. 


Page. 


85 


2, 


500 




6, 7, 


121 




10, 


348 


36 


2, 


261 


38 


14, 


503 


40 


3, 


87 




16, 


500 




81, 


407 


41 


18, 


121 


47 


2 } 


391 


53 


5,' 


66 




7, 


281 


60 


9-15, 


473 


62 


6, 


245 




10, 


87 


64 


9-11, 


339 


65 


6, 


142 




Jeremiah. 




2 


13, 


347 


5 


24, 


278 


7 


31, 


260 


8 


7, 


206 






503 


10 


5, 


59 


14 


5, 


405 


15 


19, 


432 


25 


10, 


390 


31 


21, 


152 


37 


21, 


478 


38 


252 




6, 


347 


41 


17, 


327 


46 


18, 


399 




19-26, 


60 


49 


16, 


191 




19, 


296 


Lamentations. 


2 




340 




15, 


341 


4 


h 


251 


5 




340 




15, 


112 




18, 


285 




EZEKIEL. 




5 


5, 


471 


9 




175 



EZEKIEL. 









23' 


40 


41 7 


26 


1 ^ 


cli r. 
010 


27 


5 


468 






^00 
ouu 




18 


490 


29 


Q 
°, 


i i 




14 15 


66 




15 


HO 


30 


13,' 


80 






60 


Oil 


18, 


OU 


37 




261 


39 


18, 


432 


47 




240 




16, 


508 




Daniel. 




6 


10, 


42 




Hosua. 




5 


1, 


435 


8 


1, 


407 


11 


1, 


526 


14 


7 


500 




Joel. 




2 




278 


3 


10 


321 




Amos. 




1 

1 


1 

J, 







z, 


ovo 


4 


1, 


432 


6 


1, 


366 


7 
1 


A 


290 




15, 


329 


8 


11,' 


829 


g 


2', 3, 


399 




14,' 15, 


329 




MlCAH. 




1 


D , 


ouu 


3 


12, 


258 


4 


3, 


320 


5 


2 


325 


6 


l! 2, 


343 


7 


14, 


398 






432 



TEXTS OF 



SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED. 537 



Zechariah. 



Chap 




Page. 


13 






it 




256 






241 




Matthew. 




Z 


10, 


£Oft 
OZb 




17 1 fi 
11, 1 o, 


oo 1 




00 


" Ol A 
Z14 


Q 
O 




QA£ 
oUO 




1 A 
1—4, 


OQQ 
Zoo 




1 


01 K 

zio 


A 

4 


i 

1, 


OAK 

zyo 




^ ft 

0, b, 


O^ P. 

zoo 




19 10 
1Z, lo, 


AAA 




1 

Id, 


A £0 

4o.o 






440 




1 K 

10, 


AAA 

444 






A A K 
440 




io— zz, 


A A P. 

440 




00 
Zo, 


A QQ 

4oy 




0/1 
Z4, 


AAA 
444 




Ofi 

zo, 


AA A 
444 







A QQ 

4oy 




1 A 
I 4 , 


QQO 




A FLO 
40 O 







439 




OA 

Zb, 


7/1 

o f 4 




oq on 

zo, zy, 


352 




ob, 


200 


n 
I 




439 




13, 14, 


248 




oe ot 
2b, 27, 


100 


Q 
O 


on 

ZU, 


Zoo 






374 




OQ O 
Zo, 34. 


401 


n 

y 


1 

1, 


A P.O 

40o 




"7 
/ , 


4ob 




y, 


440 


1 A 

lb 


0, b, 


0-b 




39, 


464 




/I o 

4Z, 


275 


11 


o o 


450 




7 


OQQ 

zyo 




20,' 


453 




20-24, 


442 


13 


53-56, 


388 


14 


450 




34, 


443 


15 


14, 


347 



Matthew. 



Chap. 


Verse. 


Page. 


10 


oo OQ 
6Z— oo, 


40Z 


lb 




A OO 

4oo 






4b/ 


1 7 
1 i 




/I oo 
4oo 




1 A 07 
14— Z/, 


a a a. 
44b 


1 Q 

lo 


6, 


oni 
owl 


01 
Zl 




OftQ 

zoy 






077 
Z 1 1 




o 
z, 


ooo 
ZZo 




00 
oo, 


oi a 
Zlb 


23 


27, 


212 


24 


2, 32, 


244 




20, 


278 




41, 


390 


25 


32, 33, 


281 


26 


39-49, 


266 


27 


60, 


347 




Mark. 




l 


00 
Zo, 


A QO 

4yz 




07 

Ol, 


Oft/1 
Zb4 


o 


p. 

V} 


AA £ 
440 


5 




4KO 
40Z 




OO 

zz, 


A PLO 
40o 


a 
O 


00 
oo, 


/i £A 
40b 




00, 


445 


7 


O A 

Z4, 


174 




24-30, 


516 


8 




467 




1-9, 


452 


11 




350 




23, 


277 


15 


40, 


452 


16 


3, 


347 




Luke. 




i 
1 


zo, 


007 
OOI 






322 






292 




7, 


328 




O/S 

24, 


328 






341 




32, 


498 




39, 


415 




44, 


349 




51, 52, 


415 


3 


16, 


93 


4 


26, 


515 





Luke. 




Chap. 




Pa»-e 


4 


97 


367 




28 29 


388 


5 


1-11 


446 


g 




456 




17-49, 


439 




38, 


142 






21 3 


7 
1 


39 


275 


g 




449 




27 


452 


9 


433 


1 


4 


117 




30 


284 


12 


54 


279 




55 


279 




4 } 


257 




g 


350 


14. 


5 


347 


1 5 




280 


1 7 




333 


18 




288 






289 


19 




269 






288 




41, 


269 


01 


37 

O I , 


264 


23 


39-44, 


222 


24 


47, 


524 




50, 


271 




John. 






1 7 


274 




44 


445 


2 


i 


392 


4 




354 




4 Q 

H — V, 


9RQ 




13 14 


121 




91 99 
zi, zo, 


526 




26 


392 


r 


o 


9fi9 


6 




451 




51, 


325 




66, 67, 


466 


7 


1, 


467 




37, 


241 


10 


1, 


466 



280 

4, 5, 27, 280 
40, 306 



538 


TEXTS 


OF 




John. 




Chap. 


Verse. 


Page. 


11 




276 




18, 


274 




31, 


272 


13 


26, 


90 


18 


2, 


264 




22, 


107 


19 


23, 


142 




41, 


267 


21 




448 




9 


392 




Acts. 




1 


12, 


271 




19, 


259 


2 


9, 10, 


249 


7 


15, 16, 


356 




22, 


49 






136 


8 


40, 


518 


9 


5, 


332 




11, 


477 




17, 


489 




29, 30, 


517 




38-41, 


520 


10 




517 



SCRIPTURE IL 





Acts. 




Chap. 


Terse. 


Page. 


10 




527 




6, 


520 


12 


2, 


519 




22, 23, 


518 


18 


18, 


45 




24, 


30 


21 




518 




4, 5, 


516 




7, 


402 


24 


24, 25, 


517 


26 


518 


27 




22 




3, 


516 


28 


3, 


16 




12, 


16 


2 


Corinthians. 


5 


1, 


92 


a 
D 


14, 


258 




24, 


66 




Galatians. 




1 


17, 


149 


4 


24, 


273 



USTRATED. 



Ephesians. 

Chap. Verse. Page 

5 27, 273 



Hebrews. 





1-4 


351 


12 


18, 


24 


13 


12, 


261 




20, 21, 


242 




James. 




3 


4, 5, 


523 




1 Peter. 




2 


25, 


281 




2 Peter. 




1 


18, 


433 



Revelations. 



5 


12, 


281 


7 


9, 


59 


18 


22, 
3, 


390 


19 


CO 


21 


8, 


307 


22 


1, 
11-15, 


74 




246 



INDEX 



Aaron's Grave, 197. 

Abana and Pharpab, rivers of 
Damascus, 489. 

Abraham's oak at Hebron, 216. 

Absalom's tomb at Jerusalem, 256. 

Aceldama, or Potter's field at Je- 
rusalem, 259. 

Acre, City of, 402. 

Adullum (cave), 829. 

^Etna, Mount, 16. 

Akaba (gulf), 155, 159. 

Alexandria, 27; Cleopatra's Nee- 
dle, 29. 

Amalek, 106, 160. 

Amalekite army, 421. 

Apollos' birthplace, 80. 

Arab encampment at Merom, 463. 

Baalbec, 495 ; Kuined temples, 
496. 

Balaam on Moab, 302. 
Baptism of John at the Jordan, 
299. 

Bashan's hills. 432. 

Bathing in the East, 485. 

Bedouin drama, 109. 

Bedouins parting from us, 214. 

Bedouins of Sinai, 141, 150, 161. 

Beersheba, 200. 

Beirout, first view, 504 ; Mis- 
sionaries, 508 ; Parting with 
Ahmed and his two servants, 
511; Departure, 514. 

Beisan, or Beth-shan, 428. 

Bethel, 349; Abraham and Lot, 
301. 

Bethany, 274. 

Bethlehem, 217, 321, 325. 



Bethsaida, 442. 
Birds of the air, 374. 
Brooks and streams in Palestine, 
397. 

Buffaloes in Egypt, 32 ; in Pal- 
estine, 462. 

Burning bush at Mount Sinai, 
138. 

Cairo, 37 ; Old Cairo, 52. 

Caipha, 399. 

Calvary, 235. 

Camel, The, 156, 165, 176. 

Capernaum, 442, 452. 

Carmel (Mount), 207. 

Catacombs at Malta, 21 ; in the 

desert, 57. 
Caves of Engeddi, 314. 
Cedars of Lebanon, 499. 
Cesarea Philippi, 464, 466. 
Cesarea (on the Mediterranean), 

517. 

Cheriti-i (brook), 287. 
Chorazin, 442. 

Christ's birthplace, 322; Christ 
at Nazareth, 387 ; Christ at the 
well of Jacob, 354, 356; Christ's 
triumphal entry into Jerusalem, 
267 ; Christ's ascension, 270. 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
223. 

Clothing in the desert, 220. 
Coat of Christ, without seam, 
143. 

Ccele-Syria, 501. 
Coffee houses in the East, 485. 
Convent of Sinai, 128, 139. 
Convent of Elijah, 331. 

( 539) 



540 i n i) 

Convent of Mar Saba, 815. 
Content of Mount Carmel, 40O. 
Convents, serving as places of 

entertainment, 383, 403. 
Cooking, killing, and baking in 

the East, 426. 
Cobnelius at Cesarea, 517. 
Customs of the East, 492. 

Damascus, first view of, 476 ; 
Straight street, 477; Inns, 478; 
Domestic life, 479 ; Hospitality, 
480; Mosques and Mohamme- 
dans, 481 ; Ramadan (fasting 
season), 483 ; Social gathering, 
484; History of Damascus, 489; 
Last view, 494. 

Dan, 465. 

Dancing in the East, 111. 
David's tomb, 257. 
Dead of Sinai, 138. 
Dead Sea, 309. 
Demoniacs, 492. 

Dekvishes (dancing Moslems), 44. 
Dogs, 40, 55, 375. 
Donkeys (asses), 36. 
Donkey boys, 35. 
Druses of Syria, 510. 

Eagles, 406. 

Easter in Jerusalem, 242. 

Ebal and Gerizim (curses and 

blessings of), 357. 
Edom, 184. 

Egxpt, Brick making, 56 ; Bond- 
age, 79 ; Egg ovens. 72 ; Char- 
acter of Egyptians. 64. 

Elijah's cave on Mount Sinai, 
130; Elijah on Carmel, 394, 
404; Elijah and Elisha, 305; 
Elijah fed by the ravens, 287. 

Elim, 104. 

Elisha ploughing, 320. 

Elisha at Shunem, 327; Elisha 

on Carmel. 404; Elisha's spring, 

291. 
Endor, 421. 
En-'Rogel, 259. 
Engeddi, 314. 

Eshcol, brook and grapes, 215. 
Ezion-Geber, 158. 



EX. 

Farming in Palestine, 319, 383. 

Farming Bedouins, 320. 

Feiran, Wady, 122. 

Fiery serpents, 154. 

Fig trees, 277, 350. 

Fishes and fishermen at the Sea 

of Galilee, 445. 
Flying fishes at Akaba, 173. 
Foxes in Palestine, 285. 
Franciscan procession in the 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 

226. 

Galilee, Sea of, 441, 444. 
Gazelle (hart, hind, or roe). 179, 

405; Meat of the Gazelle, 198. 
Gates of cities. 245. 
Gehenna or Hinnom, 260. 
Gethsemane, 265, 345. 
Gibea of Saul, 348. 
Gibeon, 348. 
Goad (ox-goad), 332. 
Golden calf, 136. 
Golden gate at Jerusalem, 253. 
Golden well, 251. 
Good Friday in Jerusalem, 22. 
Good Samaritan, Parable of, 284. 
Governor of Akaba, 157. 
Grave of an American at Akaba, 

171. 

Hazeroth, 153. 

Heat and cold, 206. 

Hebrews crossing the Jordan, 

801. 
Hebron, 210. 
Heliopolis (On), 47. 
History on Egyptian tombs, 58. 
Holy Cities of the Jews, 457. 
Holy fire on the Greek Easter, 

230. 

Holy Sepulchre, 224, 236. 
Homeward bound, 530. 
Hor, Mount, 182, 186. 
Hot Springs at the Sea of Gali- 
lee, 458. 

Hotels in Cairo, 34, 52 ; in Pal- 
estine, 402. 
Hussein, Sheikh, 181. 
Hyssop, 154. 



INDEX. 541 



issachar, 430. 

Jabesh-Gilead, 428. 

Jabin, King of Canaan, warring 
with the Jews, 428. 

Jacob blessing his sons, 431. 

Jeiioshapiiat, valley of, 255. 

Jenin (En-gannim), 371. 

Jeremiah's cave, 252. 

Jericho, 288, 292,* 295. 

Jerusalem, 261 ; approach to, 
218; ancient Jerusalem, 250; 
Jews at Jerusalem, 337 ; Popu- 
lation, 336, 341 ; Mail arrange- 
ments, 221 ; elevated situation, 
the high-place of Palestine, 342; 
History of Jerusalem, 343. 

Jews in the East, 472. 

Jewish grave-yard, 256. 

Jezreel, plain of, 382; city of 
Jezreel, 375. 

Jonah at Joppa, 521. 

John the Baptist, 283 ; at the 
Jordan, 305. 

Joppa, 519; Harbor of Joppa, 
521 ; House of Simon the tan- 
ner, 520. 

Jordan, 297, 300; the river of 
death, 307- 

Joseph's tomb, 356. 

Joseph and Mary at Bethlehem, 
327. 

Joshua at Jericho, 288, 293. 
Josiah's battle and death, 429. 
Jotham's parable onGerizim, 358. 

Kedron, the brook, 241. 
King's pool, 257. 
Kisiion, the brook, 405, 394. 
Kissing salutations, 117. 

Larks on the Lebanon, 504. 

Law of Moses concerning the lep- 
rosy, 333. 

Lebanon, Anti, 474. 

Lebanon, Mount, 503. 

Lebonah, 351. 

Lepers in Jerusalem, 332. 

Lilies of the field, 352. 

Living fountain under the temple 
in Jerusalem, 240. 

46 



Locusts, used for food, 283. 
Lydda, 520. 

Machpelah, the field of, 211. 
Mahanaim, 304. 
Malta, 17. 
Maon, 207. 
Mar ah, 102 

Maronites in Syria, 509. 

Mary's home, 385. 

Mediterranean, 25. 

Memphis (Noph or No), 59. 

Merom, Lake, 460. 

Messina, 15. 

Midnight song, 116. 

Mill, Women, grinding on a, 390. 

Mill stones, 391. 

Missionaries at Cairo, 35. 

Missionary at Nazareth, 410. 

Mizpkh, 348. 

Moab, Mountains of, 205. 

Mohammedan worship, 43. 

Mokatteb, Wady, 113. 

Monks in the East, 322, 403. 

Moses on Pisgah, 304. 

Moslem pilgrims to Mecca, 362. 

Mosques, 41. 

Mosque of Omar, 238. 

Mount of Beatitudes, 437. 

Mount Carmel, 394, 398. 

Mount Zion, 247, 258, 268. 

Muezzin (herald), 42, 244. 

M ukhna, plain of, 353. 

Murmuring, the, 118. 

Music, Egyptian, 50. 

Nablous, 358, 361. 
Nam, 421. 
Naples, Bay of, 14. 
Nazareth, 384, 408, 414. 
Nile, the, 50, 73. 
Night in Egypt, 39. 

Old and new bottles, 456. 
Origen at Cesarea, 517; buried 

at Tyre, 516. 
Olivet, 242, 263, 267, 271. 
Ornan's threshing floor, 241. 
Our caravan in the desert, 178. 

Palestine, description of by a 
missionary, 411. 



542 



INDEX. 



Palm tree, The, 59. 

Parable of the sower, 454; of 
the wheat and tares, 454; of 
the mustard seed, 455. 

Paul and Ananias at Damascus, 
489; Paul at Cesarea, 517; at 
Tyre and Sidon, 516 ; his ship- 
wreck at Malta, 21 ; his journey 
to Rome, 22. 

Peter preaching at Cesarea, 518. 

Petra, 187. 

Pilgrims to Sinai, 148. 
Pilgrims at Jerusalem, 248, 285. 
Pilgrims at the Jordan, 296. 
Pillar of Salt, 812. 
Pinnacle of the temple, 255. 
Pisgah, 303. 

Pits or cisterns of Palestine, 347. 
Place of wailing in Jerusalem, 
338. 

Plagues of Pharaoh, 56, 75, 80. 
Ploughshares and Pruning- 

hooks, 320. 
Pompey's Pillar, 29. 
Pool of Hezekiah, 251. 
Pool of Siloam, 257. 
Pool (Upper) of Gihon, 261. 
Pool (Lower) of Gihon, 261. 
Pool of Betaesda, 261. 
Pyramids of Egypt, 32, 58, 63. 

Quails in the desert, 116. 
Quarantine, 208. 

Rachel's grave, 330. ' 
Raiment of camel's hair, 283. 
Rama, 331. 
Ramadan, 483. 
Raschid, Sheikh, 167, 182. 
Reed (cane) fields at the Jor- 
dan, 298. 
Rephidim, 125. 

Retrospect from Dan to Beer- 

sheba, 468. 
Rhegium, 16. 
Roads in Judea, 217. 
Road from Jerusalem to Jericho, 

284. 

Robbers of Palestine, 422. 
Robbers at the Dead Sea, 400. 
Rock formations, 152. 



Rock smitten, 135. 
Ruth and Naomi, 326. 

Sabbath rest, 34, 199. 
Salem, Plain of, 351. 
Samaria, City and hill of, 363. 
Samaritan altar on Mount Geri- 

zim, 360. 
Samaritan congregation in Na- 

blous, 359. 
Sand rivers in the desert, 152. 
Saul's battle at Jezreel, 424. 
Saul at Endor, 425. 
Scribes (writers), 175. 
Scylla and Charybdis, 14. 
Sea of Galilee, 439. 
Sealing contracts, 175. 
Sea Sickness, 522. 
Seir, Mount, 182. 
Sekbal, Mount, 122. 
Sermon on the Mount, 439. 
Shechem, 355. 

Shepherds and their flocks, 280. 

Ship in a storm, 522. 

Shunem, 376. 

Shittim trees, 148. 

Shoobra, 47. 

Silence of Sinai, 146. 

Sinai, Mount, 128, 144. 

Sinai and Zion, 273. 

Sin, Wilderness of, 109. 

Sirocco, 200. 

Sisera, 429. 

Skylarks, 374, 504. 

Smoking at Damascus, 480. 

Sodom and Gomorrah, 311, 319. 

Solomon's pools and gardens, 216. 

Spinning by Bedouin women, 314. 

Spring in Palestine, 277. 

St. Jerome at Bethlehem, 324. 

Storks, 205. 

Storm in the desert, 176, 205. 
Straight gate and narrow way, 
248. 

I Stromboli, Volcano of, 14. 
| Swallows, 205. 

Sycamore tree, 48, 289. 

Syracuse, 16. 
I Sybian massacres, 498. 

i Tabor, Mount, 428, 433. 



INDEX. 



548 



Tekoah, 329. 

Temple of ancient Jerusalem, 249. 
Tents on house-tops, 899. 
Tombs of the Kings, 346. 
Transfiguration. Mount of, 346. 
Tyre and Sidon, 514. 

Valley of Rephaibi, 331. 
Virgin, Fountain of the, at Naza- 
reth, 416. 
Vault of Siloam, 341. 

Wadys are the highways of Sinai, 
104. 

Walls of Jebusalem, 245. 
Washing the hands before and 

after eating, 173. 
Well of Jacob, 354, 361. 
Wells of Beersheba, 202. 



Westward course of Christianity, 
524. 

Whjted sepulchres, 212. 
Wild honey, 284. 
Wilderness of Judea, 286. 
Winter in Palestine, 277. 
Witch of Endor, 425. 
Woman in Egypt, 51. 
Woman among the Bedouins, 180. 
Woman among the Mohammedans, 
483. 

Woman at Nazareth, 416. 
Writings on the rocks, 113. 

Zaciieus, 289. 

Zarephath, or Sarepta, and th8 

widow's cruse of oil, 515. 
Zin, Wilderness of (Kadesh), 200. 
Zipii, 207. 



THE END. 




Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide ^ 
Treatment Date: Dec. 2002 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 1 6066 



. 




m 



■ 



B9I 



m 



m 



mm 

HI 



■ 



■ 



1 



ElHll 



m 



Hi 
MB 



M.J' 



BBS 

■ 



